Evening star., 1936-04-03

the forsythia In Mower, and the Hlacs,
and the mock-orange and the like. But
not every one notices these little humble
things, SO low on the ground, so unas-
Stunning, to give them human attributes.
As q matter Of fact, the average garden
visitor probably would regard most Of
the herbs and wild flowers merely as
weeds" But weeds, too, are wonderful.
Think Of the Jimson weed. It's original
popular name was Jamestown weed,
probably so called from being found near
the site Of that famous town. Yet this
weed" Is the thornapple, Datura Stra-
monium, commonly called Stramonium.
"Stinkweed" is another popular name.
The name "Jimson" shows how thor
oughly the common tongue can corrupt
such a word as Jamestown" Both
stramonium and nux vomica are to be
used only by physicians.
One Of the fine points about a lowly
plant, such as the Sweet Woodruff, is
that it can be placed beneath evergreens.
Often the spaces Immediately in front
OF foundation paintings and the like
have very bare appearance. Various
ground covers" may be used, but these
seldom have the natural look of Asperula
when so planted.
Sweet Woodruff grows contentedly
there, stands the Winters well, thanks to
some protection, and comes up in the
Spring with smile.
Somehow the word smile" In con-
nection with Asperula Odorata seems
hitting. Its jolly appearance is due to its
brlght, fresh green. The small flowers
later add bit, but very little after all.
In growing the entire plant has a faint,
pleasant odor, hence its species name
The leaves and small stems, picked
later, and dried carefully, without being
permitted to mildew, will exhale a fresh
fragrance for long time. Persons ad-
dicted to the old-faShioned custom of
putting lavender in the linen might try
using Sweet Woodruff instead. Its per-
fume Is less popular, but nevertheless
good, clean sort of thing, only slightly
reminiscent of weeds. So many of the
herbs smell weedy, and there is nothing
to be done about it. It is the tinge of
their inheritance, due to the small
amounts Of various tannins plants con-
tain.
Plant tissue is plant tissue, and Is
hasically the same wherever you find it.
1t is this essence of plant, as it might
be called, which detractS so much for
many people from the taste of the va
rious herbal teas. OF course, it is nothing
more than is to be expected. Still it
makes cultivation of the taste for such
things essential. Probably a great many
persons will never succeed in liking them.
They will suspect that the mass of the
people are right in largely giving up
these old-fashioned teas"
The writer here has tried about 20 Of
them, and of the number finds the Lin
den, or Tilleul, as the French call it, the
best to his taste. This is an aromatic
tea, without too much strain on the
taste buds. The English, we believe, call
it lime, and 1t is very popular all over
Europe. 1t is said that in Spring when
the flowers of the Linden tree (basswood
with us) appear the students at French
schools, under the direction of the nuns,
make a ceremony of their gathering,
selecting the smaller leaves and flowers,
the while singing songs appropriate to
the occasion, songs which have come
down through the centuries for the pur-
pose. Some of the songs used in Europe
on such occasions are so extremely old
that the modern singers do not have the
slightest idea of the meaning of the
words!