The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare Part 102

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 a.s.sociations, though modern scholars decide that the Zizania is wrongly translated Tares, and that it is rather a b.a.s.t.a.r.d Wheat or Darnel.

VINES.

(1) _t.i.tania._

Feed him with Apric.o.c.ks 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.

_Coriola.n.u.s_, 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.

_Oth.e.l.lo_, act ii, sc 1 (250).

(9) _Lafeu._

O, will you eat no Grapes, my royal fox?

Yes, but you will my n.o.ble 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.