The BLACK-THORN or SLOE (_Prunus spinosa_) is curious and suggestive from an ornamentist’s point of view, from the flowers, unlike most other plants, appearing in profusion before the leaves are developed. We see a plant strongly resembling the black-thorn very largely used in their ornament by the Japanese, a plant with numerous spreading branches, leafless, but thickly clustered with flowers. The black-thorn may commonly be met with in coppices and hedgerows, the blossoms appearing in March or April, and the rich purple fruit in August. The name sloe is derived from the Anglo-Saxon _sla_, and refers to the extreme acidity of the tempting-looking fruit. The natural growth may be seen on reference to E. B. 408, or M. B. 84. The black-thorn possesses a certain value ornamentally, as being, like the primrose and snowdrop, a characteristic flower of the spring.
“Flowers, as the changing seasons roll along, Still wait on earth, and added beauties lend; Around the smiling Spring a lovely throng With eager rivalry her steps attend; Others with Summer’s brighter glories blend; Some grace mild Autumn’s more majestic mien; While some few lingering blooms the brow befriend Of hoary Winter, and with grace serene Enwreath the king of storms with mercy’s tender sheen.” BARTON.
The BORAGE (_Borago officinalis_), though widely distributed, is by no means a common plant; and though mentioned by several old writers, must be considered as but a doubtful native. The generic name has been corrupted from two Latin words, _cor_, the heart, and _ago_, I act, from a belief, as old as the time of Pliny, in its exhilarating effects; hence the old saying, _Ego borago gaudia semper ago_, “I borage give always courage.” The borage, like the comfrey and forget-me-not, belongs to the order _Boraginaceæ_, and, in common with most of the species of that order, is marked by the gyrate or scorpoid arrangement of its flowers, the stem being coiled round like the mainspring of a watch. It may be met with occasionally in the ornament of the past--its large and striking-looking stellate (Latin, _stella_, a star) flowers, and the general growth of the plant, being admirably adapted to the purposes of design. As an example we may instance the MS. Hours of Henry VII. in the British Museum, where the borage is introduced upon a golden ground on one of the pages. Drawings of this plant will be found in E. B. 1114; M. B. 217; T. N. O. 98; and P. F. 36.