A host of curious proverbs have, from the earliest period, clustered round the vegetable world, most of which—gathered from experience and observation—embody an immense amount of truth, besides in numerous instances conveying an application of a moral nature. These proverbs, too, have a very wide range, and on this account are all the more interesting from the very fact of their referring to so many conditions of life. Thus, the familiar adage which tells us that "nobody is fond of fading flowers," has a far deeper signification, reminding us that everything associated with change and decay must always be a matter of regret. To take another trite proverb of the same kind, we are told how "truths and roses have thorns about them," which is absolutely true; and there is the well-known expression "to pipe in an ivy leaf," which signifies "to go and engage in some futile or idle pursuit" which cannot be productive of any good. The common proverb, "He hath sown his wild oats," needs no comment; and the inclination of evil to override good is embodied in various adages, such, as, "The weeds o'ergrow the corn," while the tenacity with which evil holds its ground is further expressed in such sayings as this—"The frost hurts not weeds." The poisonous effects, again, of evil is exemplified thus—"One ill-bred mars a whole pot of pottage," and the rapidity with which it spreads has, amongst other proverbs, been thus described, "Evil weeds grow apace." Speaking of weeds in their metaphorical sense, we may quote one further adage respecting them:— "A weed that runs to seed And the oft-quoted phrase, "It will be a nosegay to him as long as he lives," implies that disagreeable actions, instead of being lost sight of, only too frequently cling to a man in after years, or, as Ray says, "stink in his nostrils." The man who abandons some good enterprise for a worthless, or insignificant, undertaking is said to "cut down an oak and plant a thistle," of which there is a further version, "to cut down an oak and set up a strawberry." The truth of the next adage needs no comment—"Usurers live by the fall of heirs, as swine by the droppings of acorns." Things that are slow but sure in their progress are the subject of a well-known Gloucestershire saying:— "It is as long in coming as Cotswold barley." "The corn in this cold country," writes Ray, "exposed to the winds, bleak and shelterless, is very backward at the first, but afterwards overtakes the forwardest in the country, if not in the barn, in the bushel, both for the quantity and goodness thereof." According to the Italians, "Every grain hath its bran," which corresponds with our saying, "Every bean hath its black," The meaning being that nothing is without certain imperfections. A person in extreme poverty is often described as being "as bare as the birch at Yule Even," and an ill-natured or evil-disposed person who tries to do harm, but cannot, is commonly said to:— "Jump at it like a cock at a gooseberry." Then the idea of durableness is thus expressed in a Wiltshire proverb:— "An eldern stake and a blackthorn ether [hedge], an elder stake being commonly said to last in the ground longer than an iron bar of the same size.[1] A person who is always on the alert to make use of opportunities, and never allows a good thing to escape his grasp, is said to "have a ready mouth for a ripe cherry." The rich beauty, too, of the cherry, which causes it to be gathered, has had this moral application attached to it:— "A woman and a cherry are painted for their own harm." Speaking of cherries, it may be mentioned that the awkwardness of eating them on account of their stones, has given rise to sundry proverbs, as the following:— "Eat peas with the king, and cherries with the beggar," and:— "Those that eat cherries with great persons shall have their eyes squirted out with the stones." A man who makes a great show without a corresponding practice is said to be like "fig-tree fuel, much smoke and little fire," and another adage says:— "Peel a fig for your friend, and a peach for your enemy." This proverb, however, is not quite clear when applied to this country. "To peel a fig, so far as we are concerned," writes Mr. Hazlitt[2], "can have no significance, except that we should not regard it as a friendly service; but, in fact, the proverb is merely a translation from the Spanish, and in that language and country the phrase carries a very full meaning, as no one would probably like to eat a fig without being sure that the fruit had not been tampered with. The whole saying is, however, rather unintelligible. 'Peeling a peach' would be treated anywhere as a dubious attention." Of the many proverbs connected with thorns, there is the true one which tells us how, "He that goes barefoot must not plant thorns," The meaning of which is self-evident, and the person who lives in a chronic state of uneasiness is said to, "sit on thorns." Then there is the oft-quoted adage:— "While thy shoe is on thy foot, tread upon the thorns." On the other hand, that no position in life is exempt from trouble of some kind is embodied in this proverb:— "Wherever a man dwells he shall be sure to have a thorn bush which Ray also explains in its literal sense, remarking that there "are few places in England where a man can dwell, but he shall have one near him." Then, again, thorns are commonly said to "make the greatest crackling," and "the thorn comes forth with its point forward." Many a great man has wished himself poor and obscure in his hours of adversity, a sentiment contained in the following proverb:— "The pine wishes herself a shrub when the axe is at her root." A quaint phrase applied to those who expect events to take an unnatural turn is:— "Would you have potatoes grow by the pot-side?" Amongst some of the other numerous proverbs may be mentioned a few relating to the apple; one of these reminding us that, "An apple, an egg, and a nut, Selfishness in giving is thus expressed:— "To give an apple where there is an orchard." And the idea of worthlessness is often referred to as when it is said that "There is small choice in rotten apples," with which may be compared another which warns us of the contagious effects of bad influence:— "The rotten apple injures its neighbour." The utter dissimilarity which often exists between two persons, or things, is jocularly enjoined in the familiar adage:— "As like as an apple is to a lobster," And the folly of taking what one knows is paltry or bad has given rise to an instructive proverb:— "Better give an apple than eat it." The folly of expecting good results from the most unreasonable causes is the subject of the following old adage:— "Plant the crab where you will, it will never bear pippins." The crab tree has also been made the subject of several amusing rhymes, one of which is as follows:— "The crab of the wood is sauce very good for the crab of the The coolness of the cucumber has long ago become proverbial for a person of a cold collected nature, "As cool as a cucumber," and the man who not only makes unreasonable requests, but equally expects them to be gratified, is said to "ask an elm-tree for pears." Then, again, foolish persons who have no power of observation, are likened to "a blind goose that knows not a fox from a fern bush." The willow has long been a proverbial symbol of sadness, and on this account it was customary for those who were forsaken in love to wear a garland made of willow. Thus in "Othello," Desdemona (Act iv. sc. 3) anticipating her death, says:— "My mother had a maid called Barbara: According to another adage:— "Willows are weak, yet they bind other wood," The significance of which is clear. Then, again, there is the not very complimentary proverbial saying, of which there are several versions:— "A spaniel, a woman, and a walnut-tree, Another variation, given by Moor in his "Suffolk Words" (p. 465), is this:— "Three things by beating better prove: A curious phrase current in Devonshire for a young lady who jilts a man is, "She has given him turnips;" and an expressive one for those persons who in spite of every kindness are the very reverse themselves is this:— "Though you stroke the nettle ever so kindly, yet it will sting you;" With which may be compared a similar proverb equally suggestive:— "He that handles a nettle tenderly is soonest stung." The ultimate effects of perseverance, coupled with time, is thus shown:— "With time and patience the leaf of the mulberry tree A phrase current, according to Ray, in Gloucestershire for those "who always have a sad, severe, and terrific countenance," is, "He looks as if he lived on Tewkesbury mustard"—this town having been long noted for its "mustard-balls made there, and sent to other parts." It may be remembered that in "2 Henry IV." (Act ii. sc. 4) Falstaff speaks of "wit as thick as Tewkesbury mustard." Then there is the familiar adage applied to the man who lacks steady application, "A rolling stone gathers no moss," with which may be compared another, "Seldom mosseth the marble-stone that men [tread] oft upon." Among the good old proverbs associated with flax may be mentioned the following, which enjoins the necessity of faith in our actions:— "Get thy spindle and thy distaff ready, and God will send the flax." A popular phrase speaks of "An owl in an ivy-bush," which perhaps was originally meant to denote the union of wisdom with conviviality, equivalent to "Be merry and wise." Formerly an ivy-bush was a common tavern sign, and gave rise to the familiar proverb, "Good wine needs no bush," this plant having been selected probably from having been sacred to Bacchus. According to an old proverb respecting the camomile, we are told that "the more it is trodden the more it will spread," an allusion to which is made by Falstaff in "I Henry IV." (Act ii. sc. 4):— "For though the camomile, the more it is trodden on, the faster it grows; yet youth, the more it is wasted, the sooner it wears." There are many proverbs associated with the oak. Referring to its growth, we are told that "The willow will buy a horse before the oak will pay for a saddle," the allusion being, of course, to the different rates at which trees grow. That occasionally some trifling event may have the most momentous issues is thus exemplified:— "The smallest axe may fell the largest oak;" Although, on the other hand, it is said that:— "An oak is not felled at one chop." A further variation of the same idea tells us how:— |