The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare
Kew Gardens, tells us that in the year 1822 the collection of Ferns at
Kew was so extremely poor that "he could not estimate the entire Kew
collection of exotic Ferns at that period at more than forty species"
(Smith's "Ferns, British and Exotic," introduction). Since that time the
steadily increasing admiration of Ferns has caused collectors to send
them from all parts of the world, so that in 1866 Mr. Smith was enabled
to describe about a thousand species, and now the number must be much
larger; and the closer search for Ferns has further brought into notice
a very large number of most curious varieties and monstrosities, which
it is still more curious to observe are, with very few exceptions,
confined to the British species.
FOOTNOTES:
[91:1] See Brown's "Religio Medici," p. ii. 2.
[92:1] It probably was the real belief, as we find it so often mentioned
as a positive fact; thus Browne--
"Poor silly fool! thou striv'st in vain to know
If I enjoy or love where thou lov'st so;
Since my affection ever secret tried
Blooms like the Fern, and seeds still unespied."
_Poems_, p. 26 (Sir E. Brydges' edit. 1815).
FIGS.
(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) _Constance._
And its grandam will
Give it a Plum, a Cherry, and a Fig.
_King John_, act ii, sc. 1 (161).
(3) _Guard._
Here is a rural fellow
That will not be denied your Highness's presence,
He brings you Figs.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, act v, sc. 2 (233).
(4) _1st Guard._
A simple countryman that brought her Figs.
_Ibid._ (342).
_Ditto._
These Fig-leaves
Have slime upon them.
_Ibid._, act v, sc. 2 (354).
(5) _Pistol._
When Pistol lies, do this; and Fig me, like
The bragging Spaniard.
_2nd Henry IV_, act v, sc. 3 (123).
(6) _Pistol._
Die and be damned, and Figo for thy friendship.
_Fluellen._
It is well.
_Pistol._
The Fig of Spain.
_Henry V_, act iii, sc. 6 (60).
(7) _Pistol._
The Figo for thee, then.
_Ibid._, act iv, sc. 1 (60).
(8) _Iago._
Virtue! a Fig!
_Othello_, act i, sc. 3 (322).
(9) _Iago._
Blessed Fig's end!
_Ibid._, act ii, sc. 1 (256).
(10) _Horner._
I'll pledge you all, and a Fig for Peter.
_2nd Henry IV_, act ii, sc. 3 (66).
(11) _Pistol._
"Convey," the wise it call; "steal!" foh! a Fico
for the phrase!
_Merry Wives_, act i, sc. 3 (32).
(12) _Charmian._
O excellent! I love long life better than Figs.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, act i, sc. 2 (32).
In some of these passages (as 5, 6, 7, and perhaps in more) the
reference is to a grossly insulting and indecent gesture called "making
the fig." It was a most unpleasant custom, which largely prevailed
throughout Europe in Shakespeare's time, and on which I need not dwell.
It is fully described in Douce's "Illustrations of Shakespeare," i, 492.
In some of the other quotations the reference is simply to the
proverbial likeness of a Fig to a matter of the least importance.[94:1]
But in the others the dainty fruit, the green Fig, is noticed.
The Fig tree, celebrated from the earliest times for the beauty of its
foliage and for its "sweetness and good fruit" (Judges ix. 11), is said
to have been introduced into England by the Romans; but the more
reliable accounts attribute its introduction to Cardinal Pole, who is
said to have planted the Fig tree still living at Lambeth Palace.
Botanically, the Fig is of especial interest. The Fig, as we eat it, is
neither fruit nor flower, though partaking of both, being really the
hollow, fleshy receptacle enclosing a multitude of flowers, which never
see the light, yet come to full perfection and ripen their seed. The Fig
stands alone in this peculiar arrangement of its flowers, but there are
other plants of which we eat the unopened or undeveloped flowers, as the
Artichoke, the Cauliflower, the Caper, the Clove, and the Pine Apple.
FOOTNOTES:
[94:1] This proverbial worthlessness of the Fig is of ancient date.
Theocritus speaks of +sykinoi andres+, useless men; Horace, "Olim
truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum;" and Juvenal, "Sterilis mala
robora ficus."
FILBERTS.
_Caliban._
I'll bring thee to clustering Filberds.
_Tempest_, act ii, sc. 2(174).
(_See_ HAZEL.)
FLAGS.
_Cæsar._
This common body
Like to a vagabond Flag upon the stream
Goes to and back, lackeying the varying tide,
To rot itself with motion.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, act i, sc. 4 (44).
We now commonly call the Iris a Flag, and in Shakespeare's time the Iris
pseudoacorus was called the Water Flag, and so this passage might,
perhaps, have been placed under Flower-de-luce. But I do not think that
the Flower-de-luce proper was ever called a Flag at that time, whereas
we know that many plants, especially the Reeds and Bulrushes, were
called in a general way Flags. This is the case in the Bible, the
language of which is always a safe guide in the interpretation of
contemporary literature. The mother of Moses having placed the infant in
the ark of Bulrushes, "laid it in the Flags by the river's brink," and
the daughter of Pharaoh "saw the ark among the Flags." Job asks, "Can
the Flag grow without water?" and Isaiah draws the picture of desolation
when "the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up, and the Reeds
and the Flags shall wither." But in these passages, not only is the
original word very loosely translated, but the original word itself was
so loosely used that long ago Jerome had said it might mean any marsh
plant, _quidquid in palude virens nascitur_. And in the same way I
conclude that when Shakespeare named the Flag he meant any long-leaved
waterside plant that is swayed to and fro by the stream, and that
therefore this passage might very properly have been placed under
Rushes.
FLAX.
(1) _Ford._
What, a hodge-pudding? a bag of Flax?
_Merry Wives_, act v, sc. 5 (159).
(2) _Clifford._
Beauty that the tyrant oft reclaims
Shall to my flaming wrath be oil and Flax.
_2nd Henry VI_, act v, sc. 2 (54).
(3) _Sir Toby._
Excellent; it hangs like Flax in a distaff.
_Twelfth Night_, act i, sc. 3 (108).
(4) _3rd Servant._
Go thou: I'll fetch some Flax and white of eggs
To apply to his bleeding face.[95:1]
_King Lear_, act iii, sc. 7 (106).
(5) _Ophelia._
His beard was as white as snow,
All Flaxen was his poll.
_Hamlet_, act iv, sc. 5 (195).
(6) _Leontes._
My wife deserves a name
As rank as any Flax-wench.
_Winter's Tale_, act i, sc. 2 (276).
(7) _Emilia._
It could
No more be hid in him, than fire in Flax.
_Two Noble Kinsmen_, act v, sc. 3 (113).
The Flax of commerce (_Linum usitatissimum_) is not a true native,
though Turner said: "I have seen flax or lynt growyng wilde in Sommerset
shyre" ("Herbal," part ii. p. 39); but it takes kindly to the soil, and
soon becomes naturalized in the neighbourhood of any Flax field or mill.
We have, however, three native Flaxes in England, of which the smallest,
the Fairy Flax (_L. catharticum_), is one of the most graceful ornaments
of our higher downs and hills.[96:1] The Flax of commerce, which is the
plant referred to by Shakespeare, is supposed to be a native of Egypt,
and we have early notice of it in the Book of Exodus; and the microscope
has shown that the cere-cloths of the most ancient Egyptian mummies are
made of linen. It was very early introduced into England, and the
spinning of Flax was the regular occupation of the women of every
household, from the mistress downwards, so that even queens are
represented in the old illuminations in the act of spinning, and "the
spinning-wheel was a necessary implement in every household, from the
palace to the cottage."--WRIGHT, _Domestic Manners_. The occupation is
now almost gone, driven out by machinery, but it has left its mark on
our language, at least on our legal language, which acknowledges as the
only designation of an unmarried woman that she is "a spinster."
A crop of Flax is one of the most beautiful, from the rich colour of the
flowers resting on their dainty stalks. But it is also most useful; from
it we get linen, linseed oil, oilcake, and linseed-meal; nor do its
virtues end there, for "Sir John Herschel tells us the surprising fact
that old linen rags will, when treated with sulphuric acid, yield more
than their own weight of sugar. It is something even to have lived in
days when our worn-out napkins may possibly reappear on our tables in
the form of sugar."--LADY WILKINSON.
As garden plants the Flaxes are all ornamental. There are about eighty
species, some herbaceous and some shrubby, and of almost all colours,
and in most of the species the colours are remarkably bright and clear.
There is no finer blue than in L. usitatissimum, no finer yellow than in
L. trigynum, or finer scarlet than in L. grandiflorum.
FOOTNOTES:
[95:1] "_Juniper._ Go get white of egg and a little Flax, and close the
breach of the head; it is the most conducible thing that can be."--BEN
JONSON, _The Case Altered_, act ii, sc. 4.
[96:1] "From the abundant harvests of this elegant weed on the upland
pastures, prepared and manufactured by supernatural skill, 'the good
people' were wont, in the olden time, to procure the necessary supplies
of linen!"--JOHNSTON.
FLOWER-DE-LUCE.
(1) _Perdita._
Lilies of all kinds,
The Flower-de-luce being one.
_Winters Tale_, act iv, sc. 4 (126).
(2) _K. Henry._
What sayest thou, my fair Flower-de-luce?
_Henry V_, act v, sc. 2 (323).
(3) _Messenger._
Cropped are the Flower-de-luces in your arms;
Of England's coat one half is cut away.
_1st Henry VI_, act i, sc. 1 (80).
(4) _Pucelle._
I am prepared; here is my keen-edged sword
Deck'd with five Flower-de-luces on each side.
_Ibid._, act i, sc. 2 (98).
(5) _York._
A sceptre shall it have, have I a soul,
On which I'll toss the Flower-de-luce of France.
_2nd Henry VI_, act v, sc. 1 (10).
Out of these five passages four relate to the Fleur-de-luce as the
cognizance of France, and much learned ink has been spilled in the
endeavour to find out what flower, if any, was intended to be
represented, so that Mr. Planché says that "next to the origin of
heraldry itself, perhaps nothing connected with it has given rise to so