Chapter XIV: Part I: The Plant-Lore of Shakespeare (11)

But the name is much more ancient than either of these customs. Strawberry in different forms, as Strea-berige, Streaberie-wisan, Streaw-berige, Streaw-berian wisan, Streberilef, Strabery, Strebere-wise, is its name in the old English Vocabularies, while it appears first in its present form in a Pictorial Vocabulary of the fifteenth century, "Hoc ffragrum, A{ce} a Strawbery." What the word really means is pleasantly told by a writer in Seeman's "Journal of Botany," 1869: "How well this name indicates the now prevailing practice of English gardeners laying straw under the berry in order to bring it to perfection, and prevent it from touching the earth, which without that precaution it naturally does, and to which it owes its German _Erdbeere_, making us almost forget that in this instance 'straw' has nothing to do with the practice alluded to, but is an obsolete past-participle of 'to strew,' in allusion to the habit of the plant." This obsolete word is preserved in our English Bibles, "gathering where thou hast not strawed," "he strawed it upon the water," "straw me with apples;" and in Shakespeare--

The bottom poison, and the top o'erstrawed
With sweets.--_Venus and Adonis._

From another point of view there is almost as great a mistake in the second half of the name, for in strict botanical language the fruit of the Strawberry is not a berry; it is not even "exactly a fruit, but is merely a fleshy receptacle bearing fruit, the true fruit being the ripe carpels, which are scattered over its surface in the form of minute grains looking like seeds, for which they are usually mistaken, the seed lying inside of the shell of the carpel." It is exactly the contrary to the Raspberry, a fruit not named by Shakespeare, though common in his time under the name of Rasps. "When you gather the Raspberry you throw away the receptacle under the name of core, never suspecting that it is the very part you had just before been feasting upon in the Strawberry. In the one case, the receptacle robs the carpels of all their juice in order to become gorged and bloated at their expense; in the other case, the carpels act in the same selfish manner upon the receptacles."--LINDLEY, _Ladies' Botany_.

Shakespeare's mention of the Strawberry and the Nettle (No. 2) deserves a passing note. It was the common opinion in his day that plants were affected by the neighbourhood of other plants to such an extent that they imbibed each other's virtues and faults. Thus sweet flowers were planted near fruit trees, with the idea of improving the flavour of the fruit, and evil-smelling trees, like the Elder, were carefully cleared away from fruit trees, lest they should be tainted. But the Strawberry was supposed to be an exception to the rule, and was supposed to thrive in the midst of "evil communications" without being corrupted. Preachers and emblem-writers naturally seized upon this: "In tilling our gardens we cannot but admire the fresh innocence and purity of the Strawberry, because although it creeps along the ground, and is continually crushed by serpents, lizards, and other venomous reptiles, yet it does not imbibe the slightest impression of poison, or the smallest malignant quality, a true sign that it has no affinity with poison. And so it is with human virtues," &c. "In conversation take everything peacefully, no matter what is said or done. In this manner you may remain innocent amidst the hissing of serpents, and, as a little Strawberry, you will not suffer contamination from slimy things creeping near you."--ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

I need only add that the Strawberry need not be confined to the kitchen garden, as there are some varieties which make very good carpet plants, such as the variegated Strawberry, which, however, is very capricious in its variegation; the double Strawberry, which bears pretty white button-like flowers; and the Fragaria lucida from California, which has very bright shining leaves, and was, when first introduced, supposed to be useful in crossing with other species; but I have not heard that this has been successfully effected.

FOOTNOTES:

[279:1] "Mrs. Somerville made for me a delicate outline sketch of what is called Othello's house in Venice, and a beautifully coloured copy of his shield surmounted by the Doge's cap, and bearing three Mulberries for device--proving the truth of the assertion that the _Otelli del Moro_ were a noble Venetian folk, who came originally from the Morea, whose device was the Mulberry, the growth of that country, and showing how curious a jumble Shakespeare has made both of name and device in calling him a _Moor_, and embroidering his arms on his handkerchief as _Strawberries_."--F. KEMBLE'S _Records_, vol. i. 145.

[281:1] It seems probable that the Romans only knew of the Wild Strawberry, of which both Virgil and Ovid speak--

"Qui legitis flores et humi nascentia fraga."--_Ecl._, ii.

"Contentique cibis nullo cogente creatis
Arbuteos foetus montanaque fraga legebant."--_Metam._, i, 105.

[282:1] "Quæ neque confirmare argumentis neque refellere in animo est; ex ingenio suo quisque demat vel addat fidem."--TACITUS.

[282:2] The flowers of Fragaria lucida are slightly violet-scented, but I know of no Strawberry flower that can be said to "give most odorous smell."

[282:3]

"The wood nymphs oftentimes would busied be,
And pluck for him the blushing Strawberry,
Making from them a bracelet on a bent,
Which for a favour to this swain they sent."

BROWNE'S _Brit. Past._, i, 2.

SUGAR.

(1) _Prince Henry._

But, sweet Ned--to sweeten which name of Ned, I give thee this
pennyworth of Sugar, clapped even now into my hand by an
under-skinker.

* * * * *

To drive away the time till Falstaff comes, I prithee, do thou
stand in some by-room, while I question my puny drawer to
what end he gave me the Sugar.

* * * * *

Nay, but hark you, Francis; for the Sugar thou gavest me,
'twas a pennyworth, was't not?

_1st Henry IV_, act ii, sc. 4 (23, 31, 64).

(2) _Biron._

White-handed mistress, one sweet word with thee.

_Princess._

Honey, and Milk, and Sugar, there is three.

_Love's Labour's Lost_, act v, sc. 2 (230).

(3) _Quickly._

And in such wine and Sugar of the best and the fairest, that
would have won any woman's heart.

_Merry Wives_, act ii, sc. 2 (70).

(4) _Bassanio._

Here are sever'd lips
Parted with Sugar breath; so sweet a bar
Should sunder such sweet friends.

_Merchant of Venice_, act iii, sc. 2 (118).

(5) _Touchstone._

Honesty coupled to beauty is to have honey a sauce to Sugar.

_As You Like It_, act iii, sc. 2 (30).

(6) _Northumberland._

Your fair discourse hath been as Sugar,
Making the hard way sweet and delectable.

_Richard II_, act ii, sc. 3 (6).

(7) _Clown._

Let me see,--what am I to buy for our sheep-shearing feast?
Three pound of Sugar, five pound of Currants.

_Winter's Tale_, act iv, sc. 3 (39).

(8) _K. Henry._

You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate: there is more
eloquence in a Sugar touch of them than in the tongues of
the French council.

_Henry V_, act v, sc. 2 (401).

(9) _Queen Margaret._

Poor painted Queen, vain flourish of my fortune!
Why strew'st thou Sugar on that bottled spider,
Whose deadly web ensnareth thee about?

_Richard III_, act i, sc. 3 (241).

(10) _Gloucester._

Your grace attended to their Sugar'd words,
But look'd not on the poison of their hearts.

_Richard III_, act iii, sc. 1 (13).

(11) _Polonius._

We are oft to blame in this--
Tis too much proved--that with devotion's visage
And pious actions we do Sugar o'er
The devil himself.

_Hamlet_, act iii, sc. 1 (46).

(12) _Brabantio._

These sentences, to Sugar, or to gall,
Being strong on both sides, are equivocal.

_Othello_, act i, sc. 3 (216).

(13) _Timon._

And never learn'd
The icy precepts of respect, but follow'd
The Sugar'd game before thee.

_Timon of Athens_, act iv, sc. 3 (257).

(14) _Pucelle._

By fair persuasion mix'd with Sugar'd words
We will entice the Duke of Burgundy.

_1st Henry VI_, act iii, sc. 3 (18).

(15) _K. Henry._

Hide not thy poison with such Sugar'd words.

_2nd Henry VI_, act iii, sc. 2 (45).

(16) _Prince Henry._

One poor pennyworth of Sugar-candy, to make thee long-winded.

_1st Henry IV_, act iii, sc. 3 (180).

(17)

Thy Sugar'd tongue to bitter Wormwood taste.

_Lucrece_ (893).

As a pure vegetable product, though manufactured, Sugar cannot be passed over in an account of the plants of Shakespeare; but it will not be necessary to say much about it. Yet the history of the migrations of the Sugar-plant is sufficiently interesting to call for a short notice.

Its original home seems to have been in the East Indies, whence it was imported in very early times. It is probably the "sweet cane" of the Bible; and among classical writers it is named by Strabo, Lucan, Varro, Seneca, Dioscorides, and Pliny. The plant is said to have been introduced into Europe during the Crusades, and to have been cultivated in the Morea, Rhodes, Malta, Sicily, and Spain.[286:1] By the Spaniards it was taken first to Madeira and the Cape de Verd Islands, and, very soon after the discovery of America, to the West Indies. There it soon grew rapidly, and increased enormously, and became a chief article of commerce, so that though we now almost look upon it as entirely a New World plant, it is in fact but a stranger there, that has found a most congenial home.

In 1468 the price of Sugar was sixpence a pound, equal to six shillings of our money,[287:1] but in Shakespeare's time it must have been very common,[287:2] or it could not so largely have worked its way into the common English language and proverbial expressions; and it must also have been very cheap, or it could not so entirely have superseded the use of honey, which in earlier times was the only sweetening material.

Shakespeare may have seen the living plant, for it was grown as a curiosity in his day, though Gerard could not succeed with it: "Myself did plant some shootes thereof in my garden, and some in Flanders did the like, but the coldness of our clymate made an end of myne, and I think the Flemmings will have the like profit of their labour." But he bears testimony to the large use of Sugar in his day; "of the juice of the reede is made the most pleasant and profitable sweet called Sugar, whereof is made infinite confections, sirupes, and such like, as also preserving and conserving of sundrie fruits, herbes and flowers, as roses, violets, rosemary flowers and such like."

FOOTNOTES:

[286:1] "It is the juice of certain canes or reedes whiche growe most plentifully in the Ilandes of Madera, Sicilia, Cyprus, Rhodus and Candy. It is made by art in boyling of the Canes, much like as they make their white salt in the Witches in Cheshire."--COGHAN, _Haven of Health_, 1596, p. 110.

[287:1] "Babee's Book," xxx.

[287:2] It is mentioned by Chaucer--

"Gyngerbred that was so fyn.
And licorys and eek comyn
With Sugre that is trye."--_Tale of Sir Thopas._

SWEET MARJORAM, _see_ MARJORAM.

SYCAMORE.

(1) _Desdemona_ (singing).

The poor soul sat sighing by a Sycamore tree.

_Othello_, act iv, sc. 3 (41).

(2) _Benvolio._

Underneath the grove of Sycamore
That westward rooteth from the city's side,
So early walking did I see your son.

_Romeo and Juliet_, act i, sc. 1 (130).

(3) _Boyet._

Under the cool shade of a Sycamore
I thought to close mine eyes some half an hour.

_Love's Labour's Lost_, act v, sc. 2 (89).

In its botanical relationship, the Sycamore is closely allied to the Maple, and was often called the Great Maple, and is still so called in Scotland. It is not indigenous in Great Britain, but it has long been naturalized among us, and has taken so kindly to our soil and climate that it is one of our commonest trees. It is one of the best of forest trees for resisting wind; it "scorns to be biassed in its mode of growth even by the prevailing wind, but shooting its branches with equal boldness in every direction, shows no weatherside to the storm, and may be broken, but never can be bended."-_Old Mortality_, c. i.

The history of the name is curious. The Sycomore, or Zicamine tree of the Bible and of Theophrastus and Dioscorides, is the Fig-mulberry, a large handsome tree indigenous in Africa and Syria, and largely planted, partly for the sake of its fruit, and especially for the delicious shade it gives. With this tree the early English writers were not acquainted, but they found the name in the Bible, and applied it to any shade-giving tree. Thus in Ælfric's Vocabulary in the tenth century it is given to the Aspen--"Sicomorus vel celsa æps." Chaucer gives the name to some hedge shrub, but he probably used it for any thick shrub, without any very special distinction--

"The hedge also that yedde in compas
And closed in all the greene herbere
With Sicamour was set and Eglateere,
Wrethen in fere so well and cunningly
That every branch and leafe grew by measure
Plaine as a bord, of an height by and by."

_The Flower and the Leaf._

Our Sycamore would be very ill suited to make the sides and roof of an arbour, but before the time of Shakespeare it seems certain that the name was attached to our present tree, and it is so called by Gerard and Parkinson.

The Sycamore is chiefly planted for its rapid growth rather than for its beauty. It becomes a handsome tree when fully grown, but as a young tree it is stiff and heavy, and at all times it is so infested with honeydew as to make it unfit for planting on lawns or near paths. It grows well in the north, where other trees will not well flourish, and "we frequently meet with the tree apart in the fields, or unawares in remote localities amidst the Lammermuirs and the Cheviots, where it is the surviving witness of the former existence of a hamlet there. Hence to the botanical rambler it has a more melancholy character than the Yew. It throws him back on past days, when he who planted the tree was the owner of the land and of the Hall, and whose name and race are forgotten even by tradition. . . . And there is reasonable pride in the ancestry when a grove of old gentlemanly Sycamores still shadows the Hall."--JOHNSTON. But these old Sycamores were not planted only for beauty: they were sometimes planted for a very unpleasant use. "They were used by the most powerful barons in the West of Scotland for hanging their enemies and refractory vassals on, and for this reason were called _dool_ or grief trees. Of these there are three yet standing, the most memorable being one near the fine old castle of Cassilis, one of the seats of the Marquis of Ailsa, on the banks of the River Doon. It was used by the family of Kennedy, who were the most powerful barons of the West of Scotland, for the purpose above mentioned."--JOHNS.

The wood of the Sycamore is useful for turning and a few other purposes, but is not very durable. The sap, as in all the Maples, is full of sugar, and the pollen is very curious; "it appears globular in the microscope, but if it be touched with anything moist, the globules burst open with four valves, and then they appear in the form of a cross."--MILLER.

THISTLE (_see also_ HOLY THISTLE).

(1) _Burgundy._

And nothing teems
But hateful Docks, rough Thistles, Kecksies, Burs.

_Henry V_, act v, sc. 2 (51).

(2) _Bottom._

Mounsieur Cobweb, good mounsieur, get you your weapons ready
in your hand, and kill me a red-hipped humble bee on the top
of a Thistle; and, good mounsieur, bring me the honey-bag.

_Midsummer Night's Dream_, act iv, sc. 1 (10).

Thistle is the old English name for a large family of plants occurring chiefly in Europe and Asia, of which we have fourteen species in Great Britain, arranged under the botanical families of Carlina, Carduus, and Onopordon. It is the recognized symbol of untidiness and carelessness, being found not so much in barren ground as in good ground not properly cared for. So good a proof of a rich soil does the Thistle give, that a saying is attributed to a blind man who was choosing a piece of land--"Take me to a Thistle;" and Tusser says--

"Much wetnes, hog-rooting, and land out of hart makes Thistles
a number foorthwith to upstart. If Thistles so growing proove
lustie and long, It signifieth land to be hartie and strong."

_October's Husbandry_ (13).

If the Thistles were not so common, and if we could get rid of the associations they suggest, there are probably few of our wild plants that we should more admire: they are stately in their foliage and habit, and some of their flowers are rich in colour, and the Thistledown, which carries the seed far and wide, is very beautiful, and was once considered useful as a sign of rain, for "if the down flyeth off Coltsfoot, Dandelyon, or Thistles when there is no winde, it is a signe of rain."--COLES.

It had still another use in rustic divination--

"Upon the various earth's embroidered gown,
There is a weed upon whose head grows down,
Sow Thistle 'tis y'clept, whose downy wreath
If anyone can blow off at a breath
We deem her for a maid."--BROWNE'S _Brit. Past._, i, 4.

But it is owing to these pretty Thistledowns that the plant becomes a most undesirable neighbour, for they carry the seed everywhere, and wherever it is carried, it soon vegetates, and a fine crop of Thistles very quickly follows. In this way, if left to themselves, the Thistles will soon monopolize a large extent of country, to the extinction of other plants, as they have done in parts of the American prairies, and as they did in Australia, till a most stringent Act of Parliament was passed about twenty years ago, imposing heavy penalties upon all who neglected to destroy the Thistles on their land. For these reasons we cannot admit the Thistle into the garden, at least not our native Thistles; but there are some foreigners which may well be admitted. There are the handsome yellow Thistles of the South of Europe (_Scolymus_), which besides their beauty have a classical interest. "Hesiod elegantly describing the time of year, says,

+êmos de skolymos t'anthei+,

when the Scolymus flowers, _i.e._, in hot weather or summer ("Op. et dies," 582). This plant crowned with its golden flowers is abundant throughout Sicily."--HOGG'S _Classical Plants of Sicily_. There is the Fish-bone Thistle (_Chamæpeuce diacantha_) from Syria, a very handsome plant, and, like most of the Thistles, a biennial; but if allowed to flower and go to seed, it will produce plenty of seedlings for a succession of years. And there is a grand scarlet Thistle from Mexico, the Erythrolena conspicua ("Sweet," vol. ii. p. 134), which must be almost the handsomest of the family, and which was grown in England fifty years ago, but has been long lost. There are many others that may deserve a place as ornamental plants, but they find little favour, for "they are only Thistles."

Any notice of the Thistle would be imperfect without some mention of the Scotch Thistle. It is the one point in the history of the plant that protects it from contempt. We dare not despise a plant which is the honoured badge of our neighbours and relations, the Scotch; which is ennobled as the symbol of the Order of the Thistle, that claims to be the most ancient of all our Orders of high honour; and which defies you to insult it or despise it by its proud mottoes, "Nemo me impune lacessit," "Ce que Dieu garde, est bien gardé." What is the true Scotch Thistle even the Scotch antiquarians cannot decide, and in the uncertainty it is perhaps safest to say that no Thistle in particular can claim the sole honour, but that it extends to every member of the family that can be found in Scotland.[292:1]

Shakespeare has noticed the love of the bee for the Thistle, and it seems that it is for other purposes than honey gathering that he finds the Thistle useful. For "a beauty has the Thistle, when every delicate hair arrests a dew-drop on a showery April morning, and when the purple blossom of a roadside Thistle turns its face to Heaven and welcomes the wild bee, who lies close upon its flowerets on the approach of some storm cloud until its shadow be past away. For with unerring instinct the bee well knows that the darkness is but for a moment, and that the sun will shine out again ere long."--LADY WILKINSON.

FOOTNOTES:

[292:1] See an interesting and fanciful account of the fitness of the Thistle as the emblem of Scotland in Ruskin's "Proserpina," pp. 135-139.

THORNS.

(1) _Ariel._

Tooth'd Briers, sharp Furzes, pricking Goss, and Thorns,
Which entered their frail skins.

_Tempest_, act iv, sc. 1 (180).

(2) _Quince._

One must come in with a bush of Thorns and a lanthorn, and say
he comes in to disfigure, or to present, the person of
Moonshine.

_Midsummer Night's Dream_, act iii, sc. 1 (60).

(3) _Puck._

For Briers and Thorns at their apparel snatch.

_Ibid._, act iii, sc. 2 (29).

(4) _Prologue._

This man with lanthorn, dog, and bush of Thorn,
Presenteth Moonshine.

_Ibid._, act v, sc. 1 (136).

(5) _Moonshine._

All that I have to say, is to tell you that the lanthorn is
the moon; I, the man in the moon; this Thorn-bush, my
Thorn-bush; and this dog, my dog.

_Ibid._ (261).

(6) _Dumain._

But, alack, my hand is sworn
Ne'er to pluck thee from thy Thorn.

_Love's Labour's Lost_, act iv, sc. 3 (111).

(7) _Carlisle._

The woe's to come; the children yet unborn
Shall feel this day as sharp to them as Thorn.

_Richard II_, act iv, sc. 1 (322).

(8) _King Henry._

The care you have of us,
To mow down Thorns that would annoy our foot,
Is worthy praise.

_2nd Henry VI_, act iii, sc. 1 (66).

(9) _Gloucester._

And I--like one lost in a Thorny wood,
That rends the Thorns and is rent with the Thorns,
Seeking a way, and straying from the way.

_3rd Henry VI_, act iii, sc. 2 (174).

(10) _K. Edward._

Brave followers, yonder stands the Thorny wood.

_Ibid._, act v, sc. 4 (67).

(11) _K. Edward._

What! can so young a Thorn begin to prick.

_Ibid._, act v, sc. 4 (13).

(12) _Romeo._

Is love a tender thing? It is too rough,
Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like Thorn.

_Romeo and Juliet_, act i, sc. 4 (25).

(13) _Boult._

A Thornier piece of ground.

_Pericles_, act iv, sc. 6 (153).

(14) _Leontes._

Which being spotted
Is goads, Thorns, Nettles, tails of wasps.

_Winter's Tale_, act i, sc. 2 (328).

(15) _Florizel._

But O, the Thorns we stand upon!

_Ibid._, act iv, sc. 4 (596).

(16) _Ophelia._

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Shew me the steep and Thorny path to Heaven.

_Hamlet_, act i, sc. 3 (47).

(17) _Ghost._

Leave her to Heaven,
And to those Thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her.

_Ibid._, act i, sc. 5 (86).

(18) _Bastard._

I am amazed, methinks, and lose my way
Among the Thorns and dangers of this world.

_King John_, act iv, sc. 3 (40).

_See also_ ROSE, Nos. 7, 18, 22, 30, the scene in the Temple gardens; and BRIER, No. 11.

Thorns and Thistles are the typical emblems of desolation and trouble, and so Shakespeare uses them; and had he spoken of Thorns in this sense only, I should have been doubtful as to admitting them among his other plants, but as in some of the passages they stand for the Hawthorn tree and the Rose bush, I could not pass them by altogether. They might need no further comment beyond referring for further information about them to Hawthorn, Briar, Rose, and Bramble; but in speaking of the Bramble I mentioned the curious legend which tells why the Bramble employs itself in collecting wool from every stray sheep, and there is another very curious instance in Blount's "Antient Tenures" of a connection between Thorns and wool. The original document is given in Latin, and is dated 39th Henry III. It may be thus translated: "Peter de Baldwyn holds in Combes, in the county of Surrey, by the service to go a wool gathering for our Lady the Queen among the White Thorns, and if he refuses to gather it he shall pay into the Treasury of our Lord the King xxs. per annum." I should almost suspect a false reading, as the editor is inclined to do, but that many other services, equally curious and improbable, may easily be found.

THYME.

(1) _Oberon._

I know a bank where the wild Thyme blows.

_Midsummer Night's Dream_, act ii, sc. 1 (249).

(2) _Iago._

We will plant Nettles or sow Lettuce, set Hyssop and weed up Thyme.

_Othello_, act i, sc. 3 (324).
(_See_ HYSSOP.)

(3) And sweet Time true.

_Two Noble Kinsmen_, Introd. song.

It is one of the most curious of the curiosities of English plant names that the Wild Thyme--a plant so common and so widely distributed, and that makes itself so easily known by its fine aromatic, pungent scent, that it is almost impossible to pass it by without notice--has yet no English name, and seems never to have had one. Thyme is the Anglicised form of the Greek and Latin _Thymum_, which name it probably got from its use for incense in sacrifices, while its other name of _serpyllum_ pointed out its creeping habit. I do not know when the word Thyme was first introduced into the English language, for it is another curious point connected with the name, that _thymum_ does not occur in the old English vocabularies. We have in Ælfric's "Vocabulary," "Pollegia, hyl-wyrt," which may perhaps be the Thyme, though it is generally supposed to be the Pennyroyal; we have in a Vocabulary of thirteenth century, "Epitime, epithimum, fordboh," which also may be the Wild Thyme; we have in a Vocabulary of the fifteenth century, "Hoc sirpillum, A{ce} petergrys;" and in a Pictorial Vocabulary of the same date, "Hoc cirpillum, A{ce} a pellek" (which word is probably a misprint, for in the "Promptorium Parvulorum," c. 1440, it is "Peletyr, herbe, _serpillum piretrum_"), both of which are almost certainly the Wild Thyme; while in an Anglo-Saxon Vocabulary of the tenth or eleventh century we have "serpulum, crop-leac," _i.e._, the Onion, which must certainly be a mistake of the compiler. So that not even in its Latin form does the name occur, except in the "Promptorium Parvulorum," where it is "Tyme, herbe, _Tima_, _Timum_--Tyme, floure, _Timus_;" and in the "Catholicon Anglicum," when it is "Tyme; _timum epitimum; flos ejus est_." It is thus a puzzle how it can have got naturalized among us, for in Shakespeare's time it was completely naturalized.

I have already quoted Lord Bacon's account of it under BURNET, but I must quote it again here: "Those flowers which perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as the rest, but being trodden upon and crushed, are three--that is Burnet, Wild Thyme, and Water mints; therefore you are to set whole alleys of them, to have the pleasure when you walk or tread;" and again in his pleasant description of the heath or wild garden, which he would have in every "prince-like garden," and "framed as much as may be to a natural wildness," he says, "I like also little heaps, in the nature of mole-hills (such as are in wild heaths) to be set some with Wild Thyme, some with Pinks, some with Germander." Yet the name may have been used sometimes as a general name for any wild, strong-scented plant. It can only be in this sense that Milton used it--

"Thee, shepherd! thee the woods and desert caves,
With Wild Thyme and the gadding Vine o'ergrown,
And all their echoes mourn."

_Lycidas._

for certainly a desert cave is almost the last place in which we should look for the true Wild Thyme.

It is as a bee-plant especially that the Thyme has always been celebrated. Spenser speaks of it as "the bees alluring Tyme," and Ovid says of it, speaking of Chloris or Flora--

"Mella meum munus; volucres ego mella daturos
Ad violam et cytisos, et Thyma cana voco."

_Fasti_, v.

so that the Thyme became proverbial as the symbol of sweetness. It was the highest compliment that the shepherd could pay to his mistress--

"Nerine Galatea, Thymo mihi dulcior Hyblæ."

VIRGIL, _Ecl._ vii.

And it was because of its wild Thyme that Mount Hymettus became so celebrated for its honey--"Mella Thymi redolentia flore" (Ovid). "Thyme, for the time it lasteth, yeeldeth most and best honni, and therefore in old time was accounted chief (Thymus aptissimus ad mellificum--Pastus gratissimus apibus Thymum est--Plinii, 'His. Nat.')

'Dum thymo pascentur apes, dum rore cicadæ.'

VIRGIL, _Georg._

Hymettus in Greece and Hybla in Sicily were so famous for Bees and Honni, because there grew such store of Tyme; propter hoc Siculum mel fert palmam, quod ibi Thymum bonum et frequens est."--VARRO, _The Feminine Monarchie_, 1634.

The Wild Thyme can scarcely be considered a garden plant, except in its variegated and golden varieties, which are very handsome, but if it should ever come naturally in the turf, it should be welcomed and cherished for its sweet scent. The garden Thyme (_T. vulgaris_) must of course be in every herb garden; and there are a few species which make good plants for the rockwork, such as T. lanceolatus from Greece, a very low-growing shrub, with narrow, pointed leaves; T. carnosus, which makes a pretty little shrub, and others; while the Corsican Thyme (_Mentha Requieni_) is perhaps the lowest and closest-growing of all herbs, making a dark-green covering to the soil, and having a very strong scent, though more resembling Peppermint than Thyme.

TOADSTOOLS, _see_ MUSHROOMS.

TURNIPS.

_Anne._

Alas! I had rather be set quick i' the earth
And boul'd to death with Turnips.

_Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc. 4 (89).

The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens. It is not very certain whether the cultivated Turnip is the wild Turnip improved in England by cultivation, or whether we are indebted for it to the Romans, and that the wild one is only the degenerate form of the cultivated plant; for though the wild Turnip is admitted into the English flora, yet its right to the admission is very doubtful. But if we did not get the vegetable from the Romans we got its name. The old name for it was _noep_, _nep_, or _neps_, which was only the English form of the Latin _napus_, while Turnip is the corruption of _terræ napus_, but when the first syllable was added I do not know. There is a curious perversion in the name, for our Turnip is botanically Brassica rapa, while the Rape is Brassica napus, so that the English and Latin have changed places, the Napus becoming a Rape and the Rapa a Nep.

The present large field cultivation of Turnips is of comparatively a modern date, though the field Turnip and garden Turnip are only varieties of the same species, while there are also many varieties both of the field and garden Turnip. "One field proclaims the Scotch variety, while the bluer cast tells its hardy Swedish origin; the tankard proclaims a deep soil, and the lover of boiled mutton, rejoicing, sees the yellower tint of the Dutch or Stone Turnip, which he desires to meet with again in the market."--PHILLIPS.

It is not very easy to speak of the moral qualities of Turnips, or to make them the symbols of much virtue, yet Gwillim did so: "He beareth sable, a Turnip proper, a chief or gutte de Larmes. This is a wholesome root, and yieldeth great relief to the poor, and prospereth best in a hot sandy ground, and may signifie a person of good disposition, whose vertuous demeanour flourisheth most prosperously, even in that soil, where the searching heat of envy most aboundeth. This differeth much in nature from that whereof it is said, 'And that there should not be among you any root that bringeth forth gall and wormwood.'"--GWILLIM'S _Heraldry_, sec. iii. c. 11.

VETCHES.

_Iris._

Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas,
Of Wheat, Rye, Barley, Vetches, Oats, and Pease.

_Tempest_, act iv, sc. 1 (60).

The cultivated Vetch (_Vicia sativa_) is probably not a British plant, and it is not very certain to what country it rightly belongs; but it was very probably introduced into England by the Romans as an excellent and easily-grown fodder-plant. There are several Vetches that are true British plants, and they are among the most beautiful ornaments of our lanes and hedges. Two especially deserve to take a place in the garden for their beauty; but they require watching, or they will scramble into parts where their presence is not desirable; these are V. cracca and V. sylvatica. V. cracca has a very bright pure blue flower, and may be allowed to scramble over low bushes; V. sylvatica is a tall climber, and may be seen in copses and high hedges climbing to the tops of the Hazels and other tall bushes. It is one of the most graceful of our British plants, and perhaps quite the most graceful of our climbers; it bears an abundance of flowers, which are pure white streaked and spotted with pale blue; it is not a very common plant, but I have often seen it in Gloucestershire and Somersetshire, and wherever it is found it is generally in abundance.

The other name for the Vetch is Tares, which is, no doubt, an old English word that has never been satisfactorily explained. The word has an interest from its biblical associations, though modern scholars decide that the Zizania is wrongly translated Tares, and that it is rather a bastard Wheat or Darnel.

VINES.

(1) _Titania._

Feed him with Apricocks and Dewberries,
With purple Grapes, green Figs, and Mulberries.

_Midsummer Night's Dream_, act iii, sc. 1 (169).

(2) _Menenius._

The tartness of his face sours ripe Grapes.

_Coriolanus_, act v, sc. 4 (18).

(3) _Song._

Come, thou monarch of the Vine,
Plumpy Bacchus, with pink eyne!
In thy fats our cares be drown'd,
With thy Grapes our hairs be crown'd.

_Antony and Cleopatra_, act ii, sc. 7 (120).

(4) _Cleopatra._

Now no more
The juice of Egypt's Grape shall moist this lip.

_Ibid._, act v, sc. 2 (284).

(5) _Timon._

Dry up thy Marrows, Vines, and plough-torn leas.

_Timon of Athens_, act iv, sc. 3 (193).

(6) _Timon._

Go, suck the subtle blood o' the Grape,
Till the high fever seethe your blood to froth.

_Ibid._ (432).

(7) _Touchstone._

The heathen philosopher, when he had a desire to eat a Grape,
would open his lips when he put it into his mouth; meaning
thereby that Grapes were made to eat and lips to open.

_As You Like It_, act v, sc. 1 (36).

(8) _Iago._

Blessed Fig's end! the wine she drinks is made of Grapes.

_Othello_, act ii, sc 1 (250).

(9) _Lafeu._

O, will you eat no Grapes, my royal fox?
Yes, but you will my noble Grapes, an if
My royal fox could reach them.

_All's Well that Ends Well_, act ii, sc. 1 (73).

(10) _Lafeu._

There's one Grape yet.

_Ibid._, act ii, sc. 1 (105).

(11) _Pompey._

'Twas in "The Bunch of Grapes," where, indeed, you have a
delight to sit.

_Measure for Measure_, act ii, sc. 1 (133).

(12) _Constable._

Let us quit all
And give our Vineyards to a barbarous people.

_Henry V_, act iii, sc. 5 (3).

(13) _Burgundy._

Her Vine, the merry cheerer of the heart,
Unpruned, dies. . . .
. . . . . .
Our Vineyards, fallows, meads, and hedges,
Defective in their natures, grow to wildness.

_Ibid._, act v, sc. 2 (41, 54).

(14) _Mortimer._

And pithless arms, like to a wither'd Vine
That droops his sapless branches to the ground.

_1st Henry VI_, act ii, sc. 5 (11).

(15) _Cranmer._

In her days every man shall eat in safety,
Under his own Vine, what he plants; and sing
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbours.

_Henry VIII_, act v, sc. 5 (34).

(16) _Cranmer._

Peace, plenty, love, truth, terror,
That were the servants to this chosen infant,
Shall then be his, and like a Vine grow to him.

_Ibid._ (48).

(17) _Lear._

Now, our joy,
Although the last, not least; to whose young love
The Vines of France and milk of Burgundy
Strive to be interess'd.

_King Lear_, act i, sc. 1 (84).

(18) _Arviragus._

And let the stinking Elder, grief, untwine
His perishing root with the increasing Vine!

_Cymbeline_, act iv, sc. 2 (59).

(19) _Adriana._

Thou art an Elm, my husband, I a Vine,
Whose weakness married to thy stronger state
Makes me with thy strength to communicate.

_Comedy of Errors_, act ii, sc. 2 (176).

(20) _Gonzalo._

Bound of land, tilth, Vineyard, none.

_Tempest_, act ii, sc. 1 (152).

(21) _Iris._

Thy pole-clipt Vineyard.

_Ibid._, act iv, sc. 1 (68).

(22) _Ceres._

Vines with clustering bunches growing,
Plants with goodly burthen bowing.

_Ibid._ (112).

(23) _Richmond._

The usurping boar,
That spoil'd your summer fields and fruitful Vines.

_Richard III_, act v, sc. 2 (7).

(24) _Isabella._

He hath a garden circummured with brick,
Whose western side is with a Vineyard back'd;
And to that Vineyard is a planched gate,
That makes his opening with this bigger key:
This other doth command a little door,
Which from the Vineyard to the garden leads.

_Measure for Measure_, act iv, sc. 1 (28).

(25)

The Vine shall grow, but we shall never see it.

_Two Noble Kinsmen_, act ii, sc. 2 (47).

(26)

Even as poor birds, deceived with painted Grapes,
Do forfeit by the eye and pine the maw.

_Venus and Adonis_ (601).

(27)

For one sweet Grape, who will the Vine destroy?

_Lucrece_ (215).

Besides these different references to the Grape Vine, some of its various products are mentioned, as Raisins, wine, aquavitæ or brandy, claret (the "thin potations" forsworn by Falstaff), sherris-sack or sherry, and malmsey. But none of these passages gives us much insight into the culture of the Vine in England, the whole history of which is curious and interesting.

The Vine is not even a native of Europe, but of the East, whence it was very early introduced into Europe; so early, indeed, that it has recently been found "fossil in a tufaceous deposit in the South of France."--DARWIN. It was no doubt brought into England by the Romans. Tacitus, describing England in the first century after Christ, says expressly that the Vine did not, and, as he evidently thought, could not grow there. "Solum, præter oleam vitemque et cætera calidioribus terris oriri sueta, patiens frugum, fæcundum." Yet Bede, writing in the eighth century, describes England as "opima frugibus atque arboribus insula, et alendis apta pecoribus et jumentis Vineas etiam quibusdam in locis germinans."[301:1]

From that time till the time of Shakespeare there is abundant proof not only of the growth of the Vine as we now grow it in gardens, but in large Vineyards. In Anglo-Saxon times "a Vineyard" is not unfrequently mentioned in various documents. "Edgar gives the Vineyard situated at Wecet, with the Vine-dressers."--TURNER'S _Anglo-Saxons_. "'Domesday Book' contained thirty-eight entries of valuable Vineyards; one in Essex consisted of six acres, and yielded twenty hogsheads of wine in a good year. There was another of the same extent at Ware."--H. EVERSHED, in _Gardener's Chronicle_. So in the Norman times, "Giraldus Cambrensis, speaking of the Castle of Manorbeer (his birthplace), near Pembroke, said that it had under its walls, besides a fishpond, a beautiful garden, enclosed on one side by a Vineyard and on the other by a wood, remarkable for the projection of its rocks and the height of its Hazel trees. In the twelfth century Vineyards were not uncommon in England."--WRIGHT. Neckam, writing in that century, refers to the usefulness of the Vine when trained against the wall-front: "Pampinus latitudine suâ excipit æris insultus, cum res ita desiderat, et fenestra clementiam caloris solaris admittat."--HUDSON TURNER.

In the time of Shakespeare I suppose that most of the Vines in England were grown in Vineyards of more or less extent, trained to poles. These formed the "pole-clipt Vineyards" of No. 21, and are thus described by Gerard: "The Vine is held up with poles and frames of wood, and by that means it spreadeth all about and climbeth aloft; it joyneth itselfe unto trees, or whatsoever standeth next unto it"--in other words, the Vine was then chiefly grown as a standard in the open ground.

There are numberless notices in the records and chronicles of extensive vineyards in England, which it is needless to quote; but it is worth noticing that the memory of these Vineyards remains not only in the chronicles and in the treatises which teach of Vine-culture, but also in the names of streets, &c., which are occasionally met with. There is "Vineyard Holm," in the Hampshire Downs, and many other places in Hampshire; the "Vineyard Hills," at Godalming; the "Vines," at Rochester and Sevenoaks; the "Vineyards," at Bath and Ludlow; the "Vine Fields," near the Abbey at Bury St. Edmunds;[302:1] the "Vineyard Walk" in Clerkenwell; and "near Basingstoke the 'Vine' or 'Vine House,' in a richly wooded spot, where, as is said, the Romans grew the first Vine in Britain, the memory of which now only survives in the Vine Hounds;"[303:1] and probably a closer search among the names of fields in other parts would bring to light many similar instances.[303:2]

Among the English Vineyards those of Gloucestershire stood pre-eminent. William of Malmesbury, writing of Gloucestershire in the twelfth century, says: "This county is planted thicker with Vineyards than any other in England, more plentiful in crops, and more pleasant in flavour. For the wines do not offend the mouth with sharpness, since they do not yield to the French in sweetness" ("De Gestis Pontif.," book iv.) Of these Vineyards the tradition still remains in the county. The Cotswold Hills are in many places curiously marked with a succession of steps or narrow terraces, called "litchets" or "lynches;" these are traditionally the sites of the old Vineyards, but the tradition cannot be fully depended on, and the formation of the terraces has been variously accounted for. By some they are supposed to be natural formations, but wherever I have seen them they appear to me too regular and artificial; nor, as far as I am aware, does the oolite, on which formation these terraces mostly occur, take the form of a succession of narrow terraces. It seems certain that the ground was artificially formed into these terraces with very little labour, and that they were utilized for some special cultivation, and as likely for Vines as for any other.[303:3] It is also certain that as the Gloucestershire Vineyards were among the most ancient and the best in England, so they held their ground till within a very recent period. I cannot find the exact date, but some time during the last century there is "satisfactory testimony of the full success of a plantation in Cromhall Park, from which ten hogsheads of wine were made in the year. The Vine plantation was discontinued or destroyed in consequence of a dispute with the Rector on a claim of the tythes."--RUDGE'S _History of Gloucestershire_. This, however, is not quite the latest notice I have met with, for Phillips, writing in 1820, says: "There are several flourishing Vineyards at this time in Somersetshire; the late Sir William Basset, in that county, annually made some hogsheads of wine, which was palatable and well-bodied. The idea that we cannot make good wine from our own Grapes is erroneous; I have tasted it quite equal to the Grave wines, and in some instances, when kept for eight or ten years, it has been drunk as hock by the nicest judges."--_Pomarium Britannicum._ It would have been more satisfactory if Mr. Phillips had told us the exact locality of any of these "flourishing Vineyards," for I can nowhere else find any account of them, except that in a map of five miles round Bath in 1801 a Vineyard is marked at Claverton, formerly in the possession of the Bassets, and the Vines are distinctly shown.[304:1] At present the experiment is again being tried by the Marquis of Bute, at Castle Coch, near Cardiff, to establish a Vineyard, not to produce fruit for the market, but to produce wine; and as both soil and climate seem very suitable, there can be little doubt that wine will be produced of a very fair character. Whether it will be a commercial success is more doubtful, but probably that is not of much consequence.

I have dwelt at some length on the subject of the English Vineyards, because the cultivation of the Vine in Vineyards, like the cultivation of the Saffron, is a curious instance of an industry foreign to the soil introduced, and apparently for many years successful,[304:2] and then entirely, or almost, given up. The reasons for the cessation of the English Vineyards are not far to seek. Some have attributed it to a change in the seasons, and have supposed that our summers were formerly hotter than they are now, bringing as a proof the Vineyards and English-made wine of other days. This was Parkinson's idea. "Our yeares in these times do not fall out to be so kindly and hot to ripen the Grape to make any good wine as formerly they have done." But this is a mere assertion, and I believe it not to be true. I have little doubt that quite as good wine could now be made in England as ever was made, and wine is still made every year in many old-fashioned farmhouses. But foreign wines can now be produced much better and much cheaper, and that has caused the cessation of the English Vineyards. It is true that French and Spanish wines were introduced into England very early, but it must have been in limited quantities, and at a high price. When the quantities increased and the price was lowered, it was well to give up the cultivation of the Vine for some more certain crop better suited to the soil and the climate, for it must always have been a capricious and uncertain crop. Hakluyt was one who was very anxious that England should supply herself with all the necessaries of life without dependence on foreign countries, yet, writing in Shakespeare's time, he says: "It is sayd that since we traded to Zante, that the plant that beareth the Coren is also broughte into this realme from thence, and although it bring not fruit to perfection, yet it may serve for pleasure, and for some use, like as our Vines doe which we cannot well spare, although the climat so colde will not permit us to have good wines of them" ("Voiages, &c.," vol. ii. p. 166). Parkinson says to the same effect: "Many have adventured to make Vineyards in England, not only in these later days but in ancient times, as may well witness the sundry places in this land, entituled by the name of Vineyards, and I have read that many monasteries in this kingdom having Vineyards had as much wine made therefrom as sufficed their convents year by year, but long since they have been destroyed, and the knowledge how to order a Vineyard is also utterly perished with them. For although divers both nobles and gentlemen have in these later times endeavoured to plant and make Vineyards, and to that purpose have caused Frenchmen, being skilfull in keeping and dressing Vines, to be brought over to perform it, yet either their skill faileth them or their Vines were not good, or (the most likely) the soil was not fitting, for they could never make any wine that was worth the drinking, being so small and heartlesse, that they soon gave over their practise."

There is no need to say anything of the modern culture of the Vine, or its many excellent varieties. Even in Virgil's time the varieties cultivated were so many that he said--

"Sed neque quam multæ species, nec nomina quæ sint
Est numerus; neque enim numero comprendere refert;
Quem qui scire velit, Lybici velit æquoris idem
Discere quam multæ Zephyro turbentur arenæ;
Aut ubi navigiis violentior incidit Eurus
Nosse quot Ionii veniant ad littora fluctus."

_Georgica_, ii, 103.

And now the number must far exceed those of Virgil's time. "The cultivated varieties are extremely numerous; Count Odart says that he will not deny that there may exist throughout the world 700 or 800, perhaps even 1,000 varieties; but not a third of these have any value."--DARWIN. These are the Grapes that are grown in our hothouses; some also of a fine quality are produced in favourable years out-of-doors. There are also a few which are grown as ornamental shrubs. The Parsley-leaved Vine (_Vitis laciniosa_) is one that has been grown in England, certainly since the time of Shakespeare, for its pretty foliage, its fruit being small and few; but it makes a pretty covering to a wall or trellis. The small Variegated Vine (_Vitis_ or _Cissus heterophyllus variegatus_) is another very pretty Vine, forming a small bush that may be either trained to a wall or grown as a low rockwork bush; it bears a few Grapes of no value, and is perfectly hardy. Besides these there are several North American species, which have handsome foliage, and are very hardy, of which the Vitis riparia or Vigne des Battures is a desirable tree, as "the flowers have an exquisitely fine smell, somewhat resembling that of Mignonnette."--DON. I mention this particularly, because in all the old authors great stress is laid on the sweetness of the Vine in all its parts, a point of excellence in it which is now generally overlooked. Lord Bacon reckons "Vine flowers" among the "things of beauty in season" in May and June, and reckons among the most sweet-scented flowers, next to Musk Roses and Strawberry leaves dying, "the flower of the Vines; it is a little dust, like the dust of a bent, which grows among the duster in the first coming forth." And Chaucer says: "Scorners faren like the foul toode, that may noughte endure the soote smel of the Vine roote when it flourisheth."--_The Persones Tale._

Nor must we dismiss the Vine without a few words respecting its sacred associations, for it is very much owing to these associations that it has been so endeared to our forefathers and ourselves. Having its native home in the East, it enters largely into the history and imagery of the Bible. There is no plant so often mentioned in the Bible, and always with honour, till the honour culminates in the great similitude, in which our Lord chose the Vine as the one only plant to which He condescended to compare Himself--"I am the true Vine!" No wonder that a plant so honoured should ever have been the symbol of joy and plenty, of national peace and domestic happiness.

FOOTNOTES:

[301:1] According to Vopiscus, England is indebted to the Emperor Probus (A.D. 276-282) for the Vine: "Gallis omnibus et Britannis et Hispanis hinc permisit ut vites haberent, et Vinum conficerent."

[302:1] At Stonehouse "there are two arpens of Vineyard."--_Domesday Book_, quoted by Rudder. Also "the Vineyard" was the residence of the Abbots of Gloucester. It was at St. Mary de Lode near Gloucester, and "the Vineyard and Park were given to the Bishopric of Gloucester at its foundation and again confirmed 6th Edward VI."--RUDDER.

[303:1] "Edinburgh Review," April, 1860.

[303:2] See Preface to "Palladius on Husbandrie," p. viii. (Early English Text Society), for a further account of old English Vineyards.

[303:3] For a very interesting account of the formation of lynches, and their connection with the ancient communal cultivation of the soil see Seebohm's "English Village Community," p. 5.

[304:1] On this Vineyard Mr. Skrine, the present owner of Claverton, has kindly informed me that it was sold in 1701 by Mr. Richard Holder for £21,367, of which £28 was for "four hogsheads of wine of the Vineyards of Claverton."

[304:2] Andrew Boorde was evidently a lover of good wine, and his account is: "This I do say that all the kingdoms of the world have not so many sundry kindes of wine as we in England, and yet _there is nothing to make of_."--_Breviary of Health_, 1598.

VIOLETS.

(1) _Queen._

The Violets, Cowslips, and the Primroses,
Bear to my closet.

_Cymbeline_, act i, sc. 5 (83).

(2) _Angelo._

It is I,
That, lying by the Violet in the sun,
Do as the carrion does, not as the flower,
Corrupt with virtuous season.

_Measure for Measure_, act ii, sc. 2 (165).

(3) _Oberon._

Where Oxlips and the nodding Violet grows.

_Midsummer Night's Dream_, act ii, sc. 1 (250).

(4) _Salisbury._

To gild refined gold, to paint the Lily,
To throw a perfume on the Violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of Heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.

_King John_, act iv, sc. 2 (11).

(5) _K. Henry._