Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/317

 and Sentiments. 297 which exifts only in manufcripts (I quote from one in the Britilh Mufeum, MS. Reg. 12 G. xi.). He introduces at leaft one plant, the mandrake, which was fabulous, and gives feveral names which I Ihall be obliged to leave in his original Latin, as, perhaps through corruption of the text, I cannot interpret them, but there can be little doubt that it is in general a corre6t enumeration of the plants and trees cultivated in a complete Englifli garden of the period. "A garden," he fays, " Ihould be adorned on this part with rofes, lilies, the marigold, vioVis, and mandrakes, and on that part with parfley, coft, fennel, fouthernwood, coriander, fage, favery, hylfop, mint, rue, dittany, fmallage, pellitory, lettuce, creffes, ortulano, and the piony. Let there alio be beds (nrece) enriched with onions, leeks, garlic, melons, and fcallious {hinnuUis). The garden is alfo ennobled by the cucumber which creeps on its belly, and by the foporiferous poppy, as well as by the datfbdil and the acanthus. Nor let pot-herbs be wanting, if you can help it, fuch as beets, herb mercury, orache, the acedula, (forrel ?) and the mallow. It is ufeful alfo to the gardener to have anife, muftard, white pepper, and wormwood." Neckam then goes on to the fruit-trees. "A noble garden," he fays, "will give you medlars, quinces, the pear- main {volema), peaches, pears of St. Regie, pomegranates, citrons (or lemons), oranges, almonds, dates, and figs." When Neckam fpeaks of a "noble garden," he of courfe fpeaks of that of a great baron or prince, and enumerates fruits of choice, and moftly above the common range. JMedlars and quinces were formerly held in great erteem, and much ufed. I have ventured to interpret volema as meaning the pearmain, which was contidered one of the choiceft apples, as the apple is not mentioned in the liti, and as in one of the early gloffaries that meaning is attached to the word. Peaches were, as we have feen, known to the Anglo-Saxons j and in 1276 we find flips of peach-trees mentioned in an official record as planted in the king's garden at Weftminfter. The pear of St. Regie was one of the choice kinds of pears brought from France, and it and feveral other kinds of pears are enumerated in the accounts of the earl of Lincoln's garden in Holborn (London) in 1296. It is rather furprifmg that Mr. Hudfon Turner, in his very valuable volume on domeffic archi- tefture, where he fuppofes that mala aurea in Neckam's lift were intended a a for