Re: VMs: 1006184 & 1006185

[william edmondson <w.h.edmondson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi there DANA

Sorry - not convinced.  My wild strawberries - currently flowering in  
profusion and forming fruits - look nothing like the drawing in  
...6085.

Notable errors include the fact that leaves don't come off the stems  
like that (runners may look like an exception here - and runners aren't  
shown either), flowers come in clusters on stems separate from the  
leaves, and flowers have white, round, petals, and of course the  
forming fruit are not shown (plants readily have both flowers and  
forming fruits - for quite some period).

http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/ 
wild_strawberry.htm  has a good illustration (vesca/virginiana seem to  
be synonyms).


I really think we do have to be careful about being over-interpretative.

Many of the VMS drawings are vaguely reminiscent of plants we know (and  
evolution won't have wrought many changes to herbally useful plants, in  
my view, because relevant seeds would have been kept for growing on the  
species).  But they really do seem to be drawn by someone who has never  
really looked at plants.  Or maybe someone who did look - but drew from  
memory in the absence of specimens (dry or otherwise).  In short - the  
plant drawings do not seem to be a record of things known, rather they  
seem to remind of such records - or are intended to look like such a  
record (and because the text is uninterpretable such reminding adds  
verisimilitude....).


William


On 8 Jun 2004, at 12:46, DANA SCOTT wrote:

> Fagaria vesca (Wild Strawberry) seems to be a good match for the plant
> drawing in f05v. The loop in the stem and arrangement of the leaves,
> flowers, and root appear to be a bit of artistic license on the part  
> of the
> author of the VMs. Notice what might be construed as an insect  
> (Strawberry
> Root Weevil or maybe Scarab beetle?) in the drawing of the root system  
> (tail
> to the left, legs below, and feelers to the right). For the sake of
> argument, lets say that the loop at the top of the stem is not a  
> natural
> occurrence. Does this then negate the fact that this drawing may be  
> based on
> Fragaria vesca? Not necessarily. Perhaps the artist was thinking of an  
> ankh
> when drawing the stem? I have also previously suggested that this  
> drawing
> may have been influenced in part by an alchemical drawing in which the
> leaves are represented as birds in flight.
> Regards,
> Dana Scott
>
> Fragaria vesca:
> http://plant-identification.co.uk/skye/rosaceae/fragaria-vesca.htm
> http://www.bionaturel.com/nature-vegetal/Fragaria_vesca.htm
>
> Strawberry Root Weevil:
> http://ipm-dd.orst.edu/mint/srwadultlarge.htm
> http://www.ento.vt.edu/Fruitfiles/StrwRootW.html
>
> Ankh:
> http://www.sterling-silver-charms.org/religious_jewelry2.htm
>
> Scarab Beetle:
> http://personal.www.umich.edu/~damstra/insects/scarabbeetle.htm
>
> Regards,
> Dana Scott
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "william edmondson" <w.h.edmondson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <vms-list@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 4:52 AM
> Subject: Re: VMs: 1006184 & 1006185
>
>
> > whoops - goon  -  7 digit numbers not helpful for page refs
> >
> > ...183 does not finish half way down the page.... and the odd plant is
> > on ...085
> >
> > so much to look at, so little time...
> >
> > William
> > On 7 Jun 2004, at 12:33, william edmondson wrote:
> >
> > > Hi folks
> > >
> > > Good to have the images available.
> > >
> > > ...84 has an interestingly deviant character string right at the
> > > beginning of the page.
> > >
> > > I'm not yet breathing/sleeping character names.  So - the 'double l'
> > > character is split across two 'words',  and then look at the third
> > > word  -  are we being offered the definition of an abbreviation here?
> > >
> > > Note that the text on ...83 finishes half way down the page - so we
> > > could believe we are starting a new topic?
> > >
> > > And for amusement the botany on ...85 shows something not found in  
> > > the
> > > natural world.
> > >
> > > Cheers
> > >
> > > William
> > >
> > >
> > > Dr William Edmondson
> > > School of Computer Science
> > > University of Birmingham
> > > Edgbaston B15 2TT
> > > UK
> > >
> > > Voice: +44-121-414-4763
> > > email: w.h.edmondson@xxxxxxxxxx
> > >
> > > _____________________________________________________________________ 
> > > _
> > > To unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx with a body  
> > > saying:
> > > unsubscribe vms-list
> > Dr William Edmondson
> > School of Computer Science
> > University of Birmingham
> > Edgbaston B15 2TT
> > UK
> >
> > Voice: +44-121-414-4763
> > email: w.h.edmondson@xxxxxxxxxx
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________________
> > To unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx with a body saying:
> > unsubscribe vms-list
> ______________________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx with a body saying:
> unsubscribe vms-list
Dr William Edmondson
School of Computer Science
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston B15 2TT
UK

Voice: +44-121-414-4763
email: w.h.edmondson@xxxxxxxxxx

______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx with a body saying:
unsubscribe vms-list