Chapter I (1)

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS TO THE PURPOSES OF ORNAMENTAL ART.

BY EDWARD HULME, F.L.S., F.S.A.

In this series of papers it will be our desire to direct the attention of the architect, manufacturer, and designer, to some of the beautiful forms of nature, which, though easily accessible, seem to have scarcely received the consideration they deserve; to give a brief account of the habits, peculiarities, and localities of the plants as they come before us; to cite from time to time examples, either English or foreign, of their use in the ornament of the past; and generally to add such details as may directly or indirectly tend to create an interest in the plant in question. We find, on looking back at the past history and practice of ornamental art, in the midst of many marked differences of style, one principle very generally observed--the use in the ornament of any given country of the plants familiar to the people. Hence, the Egyptians exclusively used in their ornament the plants of their own land; we see the palm branch, the papyrus, and the beautiful lily of the Nile constantly recurring. We find the Greeks and Romans employing the acanthus, olive, and vine; the Japanese, the light and graceful bamboo; and in our own Gothic styles and those of the Continent--French, German, or Spanish--we meet with more or less conventionalised representations in the carvings, paintings, illuminations, fabrics for dress, hangings, &c., of the familiar forms of our hedgerows, streams, and meadows, such as the wild rose, oak, maple, iris, buttercup, and many others. It is then with the desire to awaken our decorators to the fact, that beautiful as the Greek _anthemion_ and other allied forms are, they by no means represent the limit available in ornamental art, that the following papers have been prepared, since we are persuaded that if once the inexhaustible riches of nature were sought after by our architects, and their beauties brought before the eyes of the people in their work, architecture would thus be taking one long step nearer to the sympathies and appreciation of many to whom it is now a matter of indifference. The works of a few of our leading architects owe at least some of their beauty to their recognition of this truth; and we would desire, while acknowledging the services rendered to architecture by such men as Pugin, Collings, Street, and Gilbert Scott, to add our mite to the revival going on around us.

Botany, or the study of plants (Gr. _botane_, a plant), is capable of many subdivisions: thus we have one department which, from its dealing with the vital functions of the plant, we term physiology (Gr. _physis_, nature--_logos_, science); another which, from its more especially dealing with the organization and structure of the plant, is called organography, or structural botany; while a third great division, systematic botany, derives its name from its teaching how the multifarious forms of vegetable life may yet be classified into genera, and these again into orders and species from certain points of resemblance in the plants thus classed together. Botany, in itself a science in the ordinary use of the term, may, however, render valuable service to art; and it is this phase of the subject which we more especially propose to develop, treating only of the more exclusively scientific points so far as we find them necessary for our present purpose; and in this we think we are fully justified, for though numbers of excellent works are accessible to the student who desires to study botany as a science, but few fully recognise its importance in a modified form to the art-student, and more especially to the designer. To the ornamentist a knowledge of the laws of plant growth is of really the same importance as the study of anatomy to the figure-painter or sculptor, and the absence of this knowledge is to the initiated, in either case, as readily detected. Many who are now content to forego this precise knowledge are no doubt partly debarred by the technicalities which meet them at every sentence in ordinary botanical works. Bearing in mind, therefore, the special requirements of our readers, we shall endeavour to avoid as far as possible the use of terms which, though scientifically valuable, and in fact essential to correct and true description, are not such as we may reasonably assume our readers, without special botanical study, to be familiar with. A knowledge of these terms is, however, very desirable, since their conciseness renders them valuable, and more especially, also, because many excellent works, which it will be of advantage to the student to consult, largely employ them. We trust that in the few cases where such terms are in the present work introduced, a clear explanation of their force and utility will be found to accompany them; we shall also, as a further assistance, add the source from whence the term is derived, wherever the introduction will tend to throw additional light on the meaning of the word.

As we cannot hope, in the limited space at our command, to supply every requirement, give every detail, or bring forward more than a few of the more common plants, the present work must be considered rather as a suggestive list of the more striking plants which, from their ornamental characteristics, will, we trust, be found of service to designers, than an exhaustive catalogue. It is very far indeed from being a complete list.

To render the work as practically useful as possible, we add to each plant mentioned the names of some standard books in which reliable drawings of the plant in question may be found; for though nature should always, if possible, be consulted, it may not at all times be within the power of the student to do so, owing to press of work, the season of the year, and many other disturbing causes.

The following books are thus referred to, the illustrations in them being of a trustworthy character. After the name of each book is the abbreviation used in the present work when it is necessary to quote it:--

The Flora Londinensis of Curtis. First Edition F. L.
Medical Botany. Woodville. First Edition M. B.
Medical Botany. Stephenson and Churchill. First Edition S. C.
Illustrations of Natural Orders of Plants. E. Twining T. N. O.
English Botany. Sowerby. Third Edition E. B.
Vegetable World. Figuier V. W.
School Botany. Lindley S. B.
Woodlands, Heaths, and Hedges. Coleman W. H. H.
Grammar of Ornament. Owen Jones G. O.

The first five on this list have coloured plates. To these we may be allowed to add Plant Form (P. F.), a work prepared by the author for the especial use of designers.

The plants described in the following pages are, to facilitate reference, arranged in regular alphabetical sequence, according to their English names, since most of my readers will more readily recognise a plant by its familiar title than by its botanical appellation. Thousands are familiar with the little daisy who would never recognise it in any description headed _Bellis perennis_. At the same time, we in every case give the scientific nomenclature as well, since in most works you may desire to consult, that will be of greater prominence than the one used colloquially. A difficulty here arises from the fact that several of our English flowers have numerous synonyms given to them; we have, however, chosen the name which we believe to be most commonly used, referring also to the others in the course of our remarks on the plant.

In the introduction of vegetable growth into any ornamental composition, we must be careful to remember that what is wanted is not so much a direct imitation of nature, which after all can only be faulty at the best, as a due adaptation of the natural form to the purpose of our design--a recognition of the impossibility of a close copy of nature, together with a feeling of its undesirableness even if it could be accomplished. Our representations must therefore be more or less conventional: in a flower-painting we naturally expect to see a direct transcript of nature, while in decorative art a direct transcript offends us.

“In the multitude of counsellors there is safety;” we will, therefore, here quote some few passages from the works of those whom we think we can all agree are entitled to speak with authority and to be heard with respect. Ruskin, in speaking on this subject, says,--“All noble ornamentation is the expression of man’s delight in God’s work;” and again, “Ornamentation should be natural, that is to say, should in some degree express or adopt the beauty of natural objects; it does not hence follow that it should be an exact imitation of, or endeavour to supersede, God’s work; it may consist only in a partial adoption of, and compliance with, the usual forms of natural things, without at all going to the point of imitation, and it is possible that the point of imitation may be closely reached by ornaments which nevertheless are entirely unfit for their place, and are the signs only of a degraded ambition and an ignorant dexterity. Bad decorators err as easily on the side of imitating nature as of forgetting her, and the question of the exact degree in which imitation should be attempted under given circumstances is one of the most subtle and difficult in the whole range of criticism.” Wornum thus defines the difference between naturalism and conventionalism: “A natural treatment implies natural imitation and arrangement, but an ornamental treatment does not necessarily exclude imitation in the parts, as, for instance, a scroll may be composed of strictly natural parts, but as no plant would grow in an exactly spiral direction, the scroll form constitutes the ornamental or conventional arrangement; we may, however, have conventionalism of details as well as conventionalism of arrangement.” Hudson says,--“There is a great difference between the terms applied and adapted; they, in fact, express the wrong and the right use of vegetable forms. All natural forms require certain modifications to adapt them for other than their own natural situations, and it is the neglect of this, and the simple application of these forms without adapting them, which constitute a false principle.” Dresser thus illustrates the difference: “Mere imitation is not ornamentation, and is no more art in the higher sense of the term than writing is itself literature. Vegetable nature treated conventionally will not be found to be far removed from truth, but will be merely a natural form, or a series of natural forms, neither marred by blights nor disturbed by winds, adapted to the fulfilment of a special purpose, and suited to a particular position--for the most perfect examples of what is usually termed conventionalised nature are those which express the intention of nature, if we may thus speak, or are manifestations of natural objects as undisturbed by surrounding influences and unmarred by casualties.” In the same way we might bring forward passages from the works of Owen Jones, Sir Gardiner Wilkinson, and many others, in illustration of our remarks; enough, however, has, we trust, been brought forward to confirm the position taken up.

We will now, without further prelude, proceed to the brief consideration of the few representative plants we have selected for our remarks.

The AGRIMONY. This plant, the _Agrimonia Eupatoria_ of botanists, and the Agremoine of old writers, is ordinarily met with in hedgerows and waste places by the roadside. The flowers are bright yellow, and are arranged in what is termed botanically a spike (Lat. _spica_, an ear of corn; when the flowers grow in succession direct from a central stem). The leaves are very ornamental in character, the central line giving off large side leaflets, and the intermediate spaces being filled by smaller ones. The edges of all the leaves are deeply serrate (Lat. _serra_, a saw; notched like the teeth of a saw). Very suitable and suggestive for lace or wall-papers, where a somewhat delicate form with a decidedly upright mode of growth is desirable. Drawings of the plant may be seen in S. B. 126; E. B. 417; F. L. vol. v. 32; and M. B. 258. The natural plant will be found in flower during July and August.

The WHITE or WOOD ANEMONE (_Anemone nemorosa_), or, as it is often termed in old botanical works, the Wind-flower. This older name refers to the same fact alluded to in its generic name, _Anemone_, the fragility and delicacy of the flowers, and their exposure to the bleak and boisterous winds that sweep through the almost leafless woods in early spring, or, as others believe, from an old fancy that the flowers will not open until buffeted by the gales of March, _anemone_ being derived from the Greek word, _anemos_, the wind. The second name, _nemorosa_, signifies woody, and bears obvious reference to the localities most favourable to

the growth of the anemone. The plant may be found in flower during the months of March, April, and May, the blossoms being pure white, with a bright yellow centre, and the outer surface of the sepals of a delicate purple tinge. It abounds in moist woods throughout the country, generally in such profusion as to cover large tracts of ground with a snowy whiteness; and the plant being perennial, we shall, when it is once established in any spot, find it regularly recurring as each spring-time comes round. The manner of growth of the anemone is very distinct and characteristic, and not being subject to any variation, cannot well be modified in the employment of the plant in ornamental art without destroying its individuality, as from the single stem thrown up from the ground three equal-sized leaves, identical in form, are produced from a point about six inches from the soil, and the stalk is then continued for about the same distance again before bearing at its summit its single flower; each and every plant, therefore, consists of a central stem, a terminal flower, and about midway up the stem a group of three leaves. This rigid law, though extremely beautiful in itself, and admirably adapted for treatment for some ornamental purposes, may, perhaps, somewhat restrict its use in decorative art. We are not aware of any examples of its employment in past art. In our illustration, the plan of the plant, the view with which we are most familiar, as we see it in its natural position, is shown, having the single central flower, and below it the three leaves radiating from the stem. It will be found that this strong individuality of growth more especially adapts itself to the trefoil, or any other form based on the figure three.[A] The garden-anemone (_A. coronaria_) is an allied species of the same family, modified by cultivation: in its wild state it is a native of the South of Europe.

The ARROW-HEAD (_Sagittaria sagittifolia_), one of our most beautiful aquatic plants, must be so well known to our readers that any lengthened description of it will be superfluous. Its generic, specific, and English names all alike point out its leading characteristic, the beautiful arrow-headed shape of its leaves;--_sagitta_, Lat., an arrow. The calyx and corolla are each composed of three parts, the petals being a brilliant white, with a pale pink irregular blotch at their bases. The forms of the flowers, fruit, and leaves are all equally adapted for decorative purposes, though it does not appear to have received in the past the attention which its merits might very fairly claim, the only instances of its application in ornamental art with which we are acquainted being in a running band of ornament round a tomb, fourteenth century, in the cloisters, Burgos. The flowers are incorrectly represented in that example as having four petals, but the general effect is, nevertheless, very good. See E. B. 1436 and P. F. 72 for drawings of the natural plant.

The ARUM (_Arum maculatum_) is a plant of very common occurrence throughout England, though rarely to be found either in Scotland or Ireland. It may be met with in shady groves and thickets, and nestled among the long grass and other herbage upon our hedge-banks. The plant will be found in flower during April and May; but from the mode of growth, and also from the pale green colour of the spathe surrounding the central organs, it is by no means conspicuous among the surrounding foliage. The upper portion of the central body or spadix--that part of it which is seen in our illustration--is generally of a dark crimson colour. The plant is far more likely to attract attention in the autumn and winter than during its season of flowering, as towards the close of the year the leaves of the arum die away, and the hedgerows also being stripped of the greater part of their

foliage, we notice the brilliant scarlet berries of the present plant rising in a dense mass to the height of some three or four inches from the ground. If the fresh root of the plant be tasted, it excites a burning and pricking sensation in the mouth that will remain for several hours; and if sliced and applied to the skin, it will frequently produce blisters. This virulence, however, like the acrimonious principle met with in the leaves, yields to the influence of heat, and in former times an excellent starch was prepared from the root. In the writings of the old medical authors and poets we meet with the wild arum under a great variety of names, many of them, through the lapse of time and from disuse, being now meaningless to us; such, for example, as abron, janus, barba-aron, calf’s-foot, ramp, and wake-robin. A very common name for the plant at the present day with country children is lords-and-ladies; and an equally familiar name, both with children and also in descriptions of the plant in botanical works, is the cuckoo-pint: this may possibly allude to the slight resemblance of the enclosing spathe to a measure for liquids. Another old name for the plant is the starchwort, in obvious allusion to its domestic use. Like most other plants, it was held by the medical practitioners of the Middle Ages to possess very considerable and valuable remedial qualities. A small portion of the leaf, either dried or in the green state, was esteemed a sure remedy for the plague or any poison. “The water wherein the root hath been boiled, dropped into the eyes, cleanseth them from any film or mists which begin to hinder the sight,” or under circumstances to which the writer delicately hints, “when, by some chance, they become black and blue.” Though the bold, simple forms of the flower and bud and the rich arrow-headed shape of the leaves appear, in an especial manner, to fit it for valuable service in ornamental art, it has been but very rarely thus employed. Illustrations of the natural growth of the plant will be found in F. L. vol. ii. 63; S. C. 22; and P. F. 41.

The AVENS (_Geum urbanum_), belonging to the same natural order, _Rosaceæ_, as the tormentil and wood-strawberry, possesses also the same peculiarity of flower, the petals being five in number, while the calyx is composed of five large segments, alternating with five others of a much smaller size. The root is very astringent in its nature, and of sufficient value to be included in the Materia Medica. The avens may be generally found growing in hedges and woods, flowering during June and July, and attaining to a height of from one to two feet. The leaves are very ornamental in character, and will, equally with the flowers, prove of valuable service to the designer. For illustrations of the growth of the plant refer to F. L. vol. ii. 36, and P. F. 81.

BEDSTRAW (_Galium verum_). This is also known as cheese rennet, gallion, and maid-hair. The word bedstraw is in allusion to the former use of the dried plant as a cheap material in forming beds. The name cheese-rennet is derived from a bygone employment of the plant for curdling milk: we see this same use of the plant referred to in the generic term _Galium_, that name being derived from the Greek word for milk. Gallion is evidently a herbalist’s corruption of _Galium_, while the fourth name, maid-hair, has obvious reference to the lightness and delicacy of the plant. The minute yellow flowers grow in dense heads of blossom, while the leaves are in whorls, that is to say, several starting from the same level, and thus growing in a succession of rings round the stems. The number of the leaves in a ring is very variable; from eight to twelve is, however, the usual number. Dry banks are the ordinary habitat of the plant. It will be found in flower throughout June, July, and August. Its lightness and graceful mode of growth admirably fit it for the purposes of the designer. For illustrations of the bedstraw refer to E. B. 648, or F. L. vol. vi. 13. The old herb-doctors, ever ready to find or make a medicinal use, speak in high commendation of the present plant for its reputed efficacy in relieving pains from burns, inward wounds, &c., while “a decoction of the herb is good to bathe the feet of travellers and lacquies, whose long running causeth weariness and stiffness in their sinews.”

The BINDWEED, botanically known as the _Calystegia sepium_, is one of our most familiar plants; large surfaces of our hedgerows (Lat. _sepe_, a hedge) being covered by its graceful leaves and tubular flowers. It is a curious fact that, though abundant throughout England and Ireland, it is very local in Scotland. The so-called convolvulus major of the garden is the _Ipomæa purpurea_, a species very widely spread over the tropical and temperate regions of the earth. Many of the family possess active medicinal qualities, and preparations from them are found in the Pharmacopœia. The English species also were at one time thus employed; but Gerarde, the great medical botanist of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, will not admit that they possess any virtue at all, but rather the contrary. “They are not fit for medicine, and unprofitable weeds, and hurtful to each thing that groweth next them, and were only administered by runnegate physick-mongers, quacksalvers, old women leeches, abusers of physick, and deceivers of people.” For study of the natural appearance of the flower we would refer you, if you are unable to meet with the plant itself, to E. B. 924; S. C. 2; T. N. O. 97; G. O. 99; and P. F. 76.

BITTER-SWEET. The Bitter-sweet (_Solanum Dulcamara_) is so called from the bitter flavour of the stems when first tasted, a flavour which is speedily followed by a peculiar sweetness somewhat resembling liquorice root. In not only the familiar English name, but the specific botanical appellation as well, we see this peculiarity of the plant referred to, _Dulcamara_ having the same meaning as bitter-sweet. The continental names have also this curious reference in them, the plant in France being called Douce-amère; in Italy, Dulcamara; in Spain, Amaradulcis; and in Germany, Bittersusstangel. The plant is frequently called woody nightshade, while the old herbalists, in addition to the names already given, call it felonwort. _Solanum_ is derived from _solamen_, in reference to the soothing effect of some species of the Solanaceæ. The bitter-sweet has small flowers of a deep purple colour, the petals being very much reflexed. The berries are of a deep red when ripe, but change considerably in their colour before reaching maturity; thus on the same bunch we may frequently see green, yellow, orange, and crimson fruit. Thirty of these berries administered to a large dog killed it in less than three hours. Refer to E. B. 930; F. L. vol. i. 14; M. B. 33; S. C. 17; T. N. O. 100; and P. F. 19, for illustrations of the natural growth of the plant. This shrub is frequently confounded with the deadly nightshade, from the slight similarity of name; but there is no other point of resemblance. The two plants are totally distinct. The woody nightshade, though common in most parts of England, is comparatively scarce in Scotland and Ireland. It is a hedgerow plant, flowering during June, July, and August. A variety with white flowers is sometimes met with.

The BLACK-THORN or SLOE (_Prunus spinosa_) is curious and suggestive from an ornamentist’s point of view, from the flowers, unlike most other plants, appearing in profusion before the leaves are developed. We see a plant strongly resembling the black-thorn very largely used in their ornament by the Japanese, a plant with numerous spreading branches, leafless, but thickly clustered with flowers. The black-thorn may commonly be met with in coppices and hedgerows, the blossoms appearing in March or April, and the rich purple fruit in August. The name sloe is derived from the Anglo-Saxon _sla_, and refers to the extreme acidity of the tempting-looking fruit. The natural growth may be seen on reference to E. B. 408, or M. B. 84. The black-thorn possesses a certain value ornamentally, as being, like the primrose and snowdrop, a characteristic flower of the spring.

“Flowers, as the changing seasons roll along,
Still wait on earth, and added beauties lend;
Around the smiling Spring a lovely throng
With eager rivalry her steps attend;
Others with Summer’s brighter glories blend;
Some grace mild Autumn’s more majestic mien;
While some few lingering blooms the brow befriend
Of hoary Winter, and with grace serene
Enwreath the king of storms with mercy’s tender sheen.”
BARTON.

The BORAGE (_Borago officinalis_), though widely distributed, is by no means a common plant; and though mentioned by several old writers, must be considered as but a doubtful native. The generic name has been corrupted from two Latin words, _cor_, the heart, and _ago_, I act, from a belief, as old as the time of Pliny, in its exhilarating effects; hence the old saying, _Ego borago gaudia semper ago_, “I borage give always courage.” The borage, like the comfrey and forget-me-not, belongs to the order _Boraginaceæ_, and, in common with most of the species of that order, is marked by the gyrate or scorpoid arrangement of its flowers, the stem being coiled round like the mainspring of a watch. It may be met with occasionally in the ornament of the past--its large and striking-looking stellate (Latin, _stella_, a star) flowers, and the general growth of the plant, being admirably adapted to the purposes of design. As an example we may instance the MS. Hours of Henry VII. in the British Museum, where the borage is introduced upon a golden ground on one of the pages. Drawings of this plant will be found in E. B. 1114; M. B. 217; T. N. O. 98; and P. F. 36.

In studying the application of natural vegetable forms to the various requirements of ornamental art--such, for instance, as the employment of bold, vigorous plants to stone or wood carving, and the more graceful and delicate growths to such fabrics as muslin and lace--we speedily find that in some cases we are unable to treat the whole of the plant we have selected for our purpose, owing to the limitations placed upon us by the requirements of the work, the exigencies of manufacture, or the nature of the materials in which our design is to be embodied. In some cases the flowers are too small in detail, or in the general mass, to accord well from the ornamentist’s point of view with the foliage of the plant; the white bryony (_Bryonia dioica_), for instance, though excellently adapted for muslins, could not in its flowering stage be satisfactorily treated for stonework on this account, though the foliage by itself is admirably suited for such purpose. In other instances we find the case reversed, the flower being large and beautiful in form, and the leaves unsuited, either from their insignificant size or want of beauty, to the purpose of the ornamentist; thus, while the leaves of the stonecrop (_Sedum acre_) are, from their minuteness, scarcely available for the purposes of design, the stellate flower is exceedingly beautiful in form, and admirably adapted for diapering and many other uses, when isolated from the rest of the plant. Where both leaf and flower are from their beauty and relative scale equally adapted for art-treatment, we are still, when circumstances require it, quite justified in employing either the one or the other by itself: where a monochrome arrangement is necessary, the leaves alone may, for example, be used; where a central radiate form, the flower may be introduced. The rosette or patera, so freely introduced both in ancient and mediæval art, is an example of this use of isolated floral forms.

The BRAMBLE or BLACKBERRY (_Rubus fruticosus_), a more familiar plant than the last, has, so far as we are aware, been but little used in ornamental art, though the _Rubus idæus_, or wild raspberry, may occasionally be seen in MSS. of the sixteenth century. The generic name is highly expressive of the prickly nature of the plant, being derived from an old Celtic verb, _reub_, to lacerate or tear away; while its English name, bramble, attests its indigenous nature, descending as it does from the Anglo-Saxon name for it, _bremel_. The stems, ordinarily of a pale purple colour and with a grey bloom upon them, are pentangular in section, the numerous prickles almost entirely confined to the ridges formed by the angles, and not occurring in the intermediate furrows; the leaves generally with five deeply serrated leaflets, a rich green on the upper surface, and covered with close white down on the lower; the petals of the blossom varying from pure white or delicate pink to a deep red; and the fruit of a rich crimson, so intense in colour as to appear almost black. The mode of growth

admirably fits it for the service of the designer, the leaves being very ornamental in form, and the long trailing stems admitting of great freedom of curve, while for its use in decorative art a further great recommendation exists in the power of representing the plant under several phases of growth without violating natural truth, as at one and the same time we find the opening bud, the fully-expanded flower, and the fruit of all sizes and stages of development, varying in colour from green, light red, and crimson, to deep purplish black in its progress to maturity. We thus gain great variety of form, and also, when admissible, of colour. The bramble appears to be of especial value in ornament where large surfaces require to be covered by forms at once suitable in scale, interesting in their details, and varied in their character; hence it would seem admirably adapted to muslins and lace, though, so far as we have had opportunity of observation, it has not been thus employed. Reliable drawings of the blackberry will be found in W. H. H., Plate E, Fig. 1.; in T. N. O. 51; G. O. 96; and P. F. 57.

Some plants, beautiful in themselves, possess an increased importance in the eyes of the followers of ornamental art, from their being used heraldically; such, for example, are the rose, the shamrock, the broom, and the thistle. BROOM (_Sarothamnus scoparius_) is thus used as the badge of the Scottish clan Forbes, and, as all readers of history will remember, was also chosen as the device of the Plantagenets. A very good example of its use in past art--though scarcely, from its being found in a Tudor monument, having any heraldic meaning--will be seen in a glass quarry in Henry VII.’s Chapel. _Sarothamnus_ is derived from two Greek verbs, signifying a shrub, and to sweep. The English name has the same force of meaning. In an old work we have consulted, the author deems it useless to go into a long account of the plant, so well known was it in his time from this domestic use:--“To spend time in writing a description hereof is altogether needless, it being so generally used by all the good housewives almost throughout this land to sweep their houses with, and, therefore, very well known to all sorts of people.” The broom may ordinarily be found on sandy commons, railway banks, and dry hillsides. The large yellow pea-shaped flowers appear in great profusion throughout May and June, and are succeeded in due course by the black seed-pods. The plant grows from three to six feet high, and when covered with its brilliant blossoms is a very striking object. Leaves very inconspicuous. Drawings of this very beautiful plant may be seen on referring to S. B. 121; E. B. 329; M. B. 89; F. L. vol. v. 31; S. C. 67; T. N. O. 49.

BULBOUS CROWFOOT. We have selected the present plant (_Ranunculus bulbosus_) as a good representative of the numerous species of plants familiarly termed buttercups, partly because it is the most striking in effect, partly because it is the one that will most readily be met with under ordinary circumstances; for while its fine flowers and beautifully-cut leaves render it singularly well suited to the purposes of ornament, the abundance of it in every meadow throughout the country places it within the reach of all who would desire to adapt it to any artistic purpose. From the commonness of the plant, and its general distribution throughout England, it has received many other names: goldknob, goldcup, baffiner, troil-flower, polt, kingcup, buttercup, butter-flower, cuckoo-bud, are all synonyms. The term _Ranunculus_ is derived from _rana_, a frog, many of the species being found in wet, swampy places; while the specific name, _bulbosus_, alludes to the bulb-like swelling of the lower part of the stem in this particular species. The name crowfoot has been given to the plant from the radiating character of the segments of the leaf, spreading as they do like the divisions of a bird’s foot; while the use of the word buttercup points to the old belief that the rich yellowness of spring butter is owing to the eating of this plant by the cows; the effect must rather, however, be ascribed to the tender grass, as any one who will take the trouble to notice the fact will find that cows in a meadow will, as far as possible, avoid the buttercups. The leaves of the bulbous crowfoot, like, with one exception, those of the rest of the family, are very acrid, and will, if applied to the skin, speedily blister it. The plant will be found in flower throughout the spring and summer: a variety is sometimes met with having cream-coloured flowers. The crowfoot is one of the favourite plants in the ornament of the Decorated period of Gothic. Representations of the natural plant may be seen on consulting E. B. 35, or F. L. vol. i. 38; refer also to “Water Crowfoot” in the present work, page 84.

CELANDINE (_Chelidonium majus_). The Celandine, though, so far as we are aware, not to be met with in ornamental art, is a plant in every way fitted for the purposes of the designer, whether we consider the form of the flower, of the pods which succeed the blossoms, or the rich outline of the leaf. The inflorescence is umbellate (Lat. _umbella_, an umbrella), that is to say, all the flower-stalks start from the same point in the stem, as in the case of the hemlock, the cowslip, flowering rush, and many other plants. _Chelidonium_ is derived from the Greek word _chelidon_, a swallow, from an old belief that the plant came into flower on the arrival of those birds, and withered when they took their departure; hence in old writings we frequently find the Celandine termed swallow-wort. The plant will commonly be found in waste places, and more especially near human habitations. It attains to a height of about two feet, and flowers throughout May, June, July, and August. Consult S. B. 95; E. B. 67; M. B. 263; S. C. 86, for drawings of the natural growth of the celandine.

The CINQUEFOIL (_Potentilla reptans_). This graceful little plant may generally be met with in abundance, a very favourite habitat being in the low grass and coarse herbage we so frequently find skirting the pathways in country districts. When it has once taken root upon any favourable spot, it speedily throws out long running stems, which, in turn, develop roots from the points whence the leaves spring; in a very short space of time a large extent of ground is covered with a dense mass of the plant, and, from its habit of rooting at each joint, it is with great difficulty eradicated, since if one root alone be overlooked, the labour spent will speedily prove to have been but of little more than temporary use. Regarding the cinquefoil, however, rather from the stand-point of the ornamentist than of the agriculturist, we are struck by the beauty of its growth, the forms of the individual parts, and the general fitness of the plant for employment in Decorative art. The familiar name cinquefoil clearly alludes to the division of the leaves into five conspicuous leaflets, though when the plant is growing under exceptionably favourable circumstances these are very frequently seven in number. The generic name is derived from the Latin _potens_, powerful, and refers to the strong medicinal qualities possessed by some of the species of _Potentilla_. The root of the tormentil (_P. tormentilla_), an allied species, is very powerfully astringent; it has occasionally been substituted for oak-bark in tanning, and with equal success, the leather being found to be in

no way inferior in quality. The properties possessed by the roots of the cinquefoil are very similar, but, from being less powerful in their operation, are now rarely used, their value being naturally greater at a time when stronger foreign astringents were not so readily procurable. Tormentil root is still, however, retained in the Pharmacopœia. The distinctive specific name of the present plant, _reptans_, has evident allusion to the marked feature in its growth already referred to, being derived from the Latin _reptare_, to creep. We are not aware of any examples of the use of the cinquefoil in the art of any past period, though from the size and beauty of form of the leaves and blossoms, and from the grace and freedom of the curves of which the main stem is capable, it appears to be well adapted to ornamental art. Refer to E. B. 432; F. L. vol. i. 37; M. B. 59; and P. F. 46, for the natural growth.

COCKLE. This, though now so frequently met with in the midst of the corn, being in fact so common as to be classed amongst the farmer’s pests, is not an indigenous plant; it has, however, been established so long that it may very fairly be comprehended in our list. The botanical name of the plant is _Lychnis githago_. The whole plant is closely covered with soft hairs, giving it a woolly appearance. The large purple flowers are very conspicuous, and have a curious effect, from the segments of the calyx being so much longer than the petals of the corolla. (_Calyx_, Gr., a cup, the outer and generally green portions of a flower, the protecting member for the delicate organs within the flower. When the calyx is cut up into several divisions each segment is termed a _sepal_. _Corolla_, the floral ring next within the calyx, ordinarily of a brilliant colour, the part which, for instance, in a rose is pink: this, though sometimes in one piece, as in a blue-bell, is ordinarily, as in the buttercup, composed of several similar members; these are called _petals_.) The cockle will be found in flower during the months of June, July, and August. Though admirably adapted for service in ornamental art, the only example we can quote occurs in a sixteenth-century MS., a missal, in the British Museum: the treatment is very naturalistic. Drawings of the plant will be found in F. L. vol. iii. 27; E. B. 215.

COLUMBINE (_Aquilegia vulgaris_), one of our most beautiful wild flowers, derives, like the broom, an additional importance to the ornamentist from its heraldic associations, the columbine being adopted as a badge by the House of Lancaster, and also by the Derby family at a time when every important house adopted some such symbol. The petals bear a strong resemblance to birds; hence _Aquilegia_ is derived from the Latin _aquila_, an eagle, while the English name is derived from Lat. _columba_, a dove. An old English name for the plant is culverwort, _culfre_ being the Anglo-Saxon word for pigeon. It will be found in hedges and thickets, thriving more especially where the soil is calcareous. Both the flower and leaf are very rich in character, and well suited for the requirements of ornamental art. Examples may be seen in the church of Shearbourne, Dorset, and in the spandrels of the canopy of a brass in Exeter Cathedral, in memory of Sir Peter Courteney, one of the adherents of the Lancastrian king, Henry IV. The columbine is a favourite flower in cottage-gardens, and may be much more generally thus met with than as a wild plant. It is in flower from May to July. A very beautiful gradation of form is seen in the leaves, the lower ones being of a very complex form, while the upper ones are very simple in outline. Refer to E. B. 46, V. W. 367, for drawings.

The COMFREY (_Symphytum officinale_). This plant may be very commonly found by the sides of streams, ditches, and other moist

situations. The corolla of the flower is generally of a yellowish white, but a variety having purple flowers is not uncommon in many localities; we have seen it, for instance, growing in profusion on the banks of the East Yar, between Brading and Sandown, in the Isle of Wight. The generic name, _Symphytum_ is derived from a Greek verb signifying to unite, from an old belief in the efficacy of the Comfrey in the healing of wounds. A very marked peculiarity in the growth of the plant is the circinate, or, as it is frequently termed, scorpoid arrangement of the flowers, from a supposed resemblance between the spiral form of the inflorescence and the tail of the scorpion; hence, in the same way, scorpion-grass is one of the old English names of the familiar forget-me-not, a plant belonging to the same natural order, the _Boraginaceæ_, and having the same peculiarity of growth. We need scarcely say that in the Middle Ages the favourite dogma that each plant had its undoubted value as a remedial agent, and generally by its form or colour indicated its medicinal use, was firmly held; thus the colour and shape of the flower of the foxglove, formerly called the throatwort, were considered as indications of its service in complaints affecting the throat, as its older name implies; and the deep red colour often assumed, as the summer advances, by the leaves of the herb-robert and others of the cranesbill family, was deemed conclusive proof of the value of the plants in stanching the flow of blood from a wound; hence, in the case of the forget-me-not, we find an old writer on medicine referring to the healing virtues of the plant as shown by its mode of growth: “The whole branche of floures do turne themselves round like the taile of the scorpion. The leaves of scorpion-grass applied to the place are a present remedy against the stinging of scorpions, and likewise boyled in wine and drunke, prevaile against the said bitings, as also of adders, snakes, and such venomous beasts.” Drawings of the comfrey may be seen on referring to F. L. vol. iv. 18; V. W. 432.

The FIELD CONVOLVULUS (_Convolvulus arvensis_). This pretty little plant is very commonly found on grassy banks, open downs, or in our corn-fields, running up the stems of the standing corn, and flowering during June, July, and August. It is one of the enemies of the farmer, from its spreading, to the detriment of the crops, over so large an area of ground; and owing to the great depth to which the roots descend, it is exceedingly difficult to get rid of it when it has once taken possession. Its generic name, derived from the Latin _convolvo_, I entwine, is very descriptive of the nature of the plant, and its English name, bindweed, evidently embodies the same idea. Another of its old English names, the withwinde, very beautifully expresses its lightness and delicacy, unable to resist the force of the wind, but conquering by yielding to its power. Where the plant occurs, it will generally be very common, many square feet of ground being often covered by its long trailing stems. When any suitable object, such as a grass stem, is met with, the convolvulus, too weak to rise by itself, ceases to trail along the ground, and twines round the support thus afforded, always ascending in a spiral direction to the left, as do also the _C. major_ of the flower-garden, the scarlet-runner bean, and many others; while others, as the hop, invariably ascend in a spiral direction from left to right. It may at first sight seem difficult to establish this, but if the reader will imagine the plant in question turning round his own body, he will at once be able to determine whether the plant in ascending would cross in front of him from right to left, or from left to right. In introducing this plant in ornament, it will be

necessary to remember, that though frequently represented as possessing tendrils, it does not in nature acquire the needed support by such means, the stalk itself being the part of the plant that entwines round other plants. The means thus employed by climbing plants are very varied; the ivy, for instance, throwing out root-like forms from the stems, which, by their grasp and penetration into the hollows of brickwork or the bark of other trees, amply suffice to support the plant; the bryony, passion-flower, and many other plants throw out true tendrils from the stem; the goose-grass clings by means of the small hook-like appendages with which the stems and under sides of the leaves are furnished; while in the pea the tendrils spring from the end of the leaf-petiole. The _C. arvensis_, like the silver-weed, the pimpernel, and many other equally familiar plants, seem to be cosmopolitan. De Candolle, in his “Géographie Botanique,” records its occurrence in a truly indigenous state in localities so widely differing in temperature, soil, &c., as Sweden, Siberia, China, India, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Abyssinia, New Holland, Mauritius, the Azores, Canada, Mexico, and Chili. The only instances of the use of the plant in mediæval ornament with which we are acquainted are in wood-carving on the ends of the stalls in Wells Cathedral, and in a similar position in the Church of St. Gereon, Cologne; in each case the leaves only are represented. Illustrations of the natural growth will be seen in S. B. 166; E. B. 923; T. N. O. 97; and P. F. 93.

The CORN BLUE-BOTTLE (_Centaurea Cyanus_) from its delicacy of growth, and the beauty of the flower-heads, would be a valuable plant for the decoration of surfaces requiring a delicate treatment, such as muslins and lace. It is one of the characteristic flowers of the corn-field, and, in conjunction with the poppy, would be valuable in any floral grouping symbolic of autumn. The plant was at one time held to possess great remedial virtue, though its use is now abandoned. The generic name, _Centaurea_, refers to an old legend that the Centaur Chiron, when wounded by Hercules, recovered his strength by the use of this herb. A very characteristic name in some parts of the country is hurt-sickle, in allusion to its hard and wiry stems. An example of its use in ornamental art will be found in a sixteenth-century MS. in the Library of the British Museum. The treatment, as is usual at that period of the illuminator’s art, is very naturalistic. Drawings of the natural plant may be seen in S. B. 159; E. B. 709; F. L. vol. vi. 62; and P. F. 8.

The CORN MARIGOLD (_Chrysanthemum segetum_) is, like the last, one of the characteristic and striking plants of the harvest-field, the intense scarlet of the poppy, the rich blue of the blue-bottle, and the brilliant yellow of the present flower, forming a very beautiful trio. The generic name, _Chrysanthemum_, alludes to this brilliancy of colour seen in several of the species, being derived from two Greek words signifying golden flower. There is considerable quaintness in the forms of the leaves, and the general growth of the plant renders it well adapted for art-treatment. We are unable to refer you to any examples of its introduction in the ornament of the past, but any of our readers desiring to remedy a neglect so unjustifiable will find reliable drawings of it in E. B. 713; F. L. vol. vi. 60; P. F. 28.

The DAFFODIL (_Narcissus pseudo-narcissus_). This beautiful flower will be found of value to the designer, both from its own inherent beauty, and also more especially in combination with the primrose, wild hyacinth, or cowslip, in any design where it is desirable to embody the idea of spring, since it is one of the most striking plants of that season of the year. The daffodil may be found in meadows and copses, and is generally abundant throughout England, though in many cases probably as an escape from the cottage-garden. In Ireland and Scotland it is never met with except under such circumstances. Where the daffodil has once established itself it grows with great freedom, and will generally be met with in profusion, though it is so local in its growth, that even if abundant in any one spot, it may frequently be sought for in vain throughout the rest of a district. The flowers, of a pure and brilliant yellow, grow singly upon the stalks, each rising directly from the root. The daffodil has a very wide area of distribution, being met with throughout the greater part of Europe, and more especially in the south-west; it is, for instance, one of the characteristic plants of the meadows and hillside pastures of Spain, together with the two-flowered narcissus (_N. biflorus_), a plant which, though abundant in Southern Europe, has never been naturalised in England. It may be frequently met with in cultivation, and will easily be distinguished from the daffodil from the flowers being generally in pairs upon the stem, and from their creamy white or straw colour. The generic name, _Narcissus_, is derived from a Greek word signifying stupor, in allusion to the heavy and powerful odour of another species, the _N. poeticus_.

Drawings of the daffodil will be met with in E. B. 1501, and P. F. 89. The daffodil being like the daisy and eglantine, what we may perhaps be allowed to term a poet’s flower, a further reason for intimacy with it is furnished to the designer, as he may possibly be required to make a design for a page border to some _édition de luxe_ of Wordsworth or Herrick.

The DAISY (_Bellis perennis_). So many rural and poetic associations cluster around this “wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower,” that our list would be sadly incomplete did it not find a place in it. Leaving the consideration of these associations, however, we would desire to point out that on its own inherent merits it is a plant admirably adapted for art-work, the forms of the leaves, buds, and flowers being all very ornamental in character, and well suited to the decoration of any light fabric. The generic name, _Bellis_, testifies to the general appreciation, being derived from the Lat. _bellus_, pretty. Daisy is a corruption of its old English name, day’s eye.

“As soon as ever the sunne ginneth west
To sene this flower, how it will go to rest,
For fear of night, so hateth she darkness.
Well by reason men it call maie
The Daisie, or else the Eye of the Daie.”

In France it is called _Marguerite_, from Lat. _margarita_, a pearl,--hence ladies of gentle birth, of that name, frequently chose it in the days of chivalry as their device. It may be seen carved in stone on the gateway of St. John’s College, Cambridge, founded by Margaret, Countess of Richmond. It also occurs in carvings at Cubberley, Gloucestershire; Coton, in Cambridgeshire; and Culham, in Oxfordshire.

“The daisie, or flower white and rede,
And in French called la belle Marguerite,
To herne I have so great affectioun
As I sayd erst, when comen is the Maie,
That in my bedde there dawneth me no daie
That I n’am up and walking in the mede
To see this floure ayenst the sunne sprede,
So glad am I, that when I have presence
Of it to doue it all reverence,
As she that is of all floures the floure,
Fulfilled of all vertue and honoure;
And ever ylike faire and fresh of hewe;
And ever I love it, and ever ylike newe.”
CHAUCER.

The family of Parr bore as one of their devices a tuft of daisies. The daisy may be met with abundantly in pasture land and the grassy borders of country roads, blooming freely from April to October. Illustrations may be seen in E. B. 772; F. L. vol. i. 62; T. N. O. 76; P. F. 63.