VERBENA. 64 VERDE. edy) . A genus of about 80 species of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs of the order Ver- benacea>, mostly natives of tropical and sub- tropical America. A number of native species are distributed through the United States, grow- ing as weeds in waste or cultivated ground. The flowers, borne in terminal spikes, may be seen during nearly the whole summer. The culti- vated varieties have creeping or spreading stems and dense spikes of large and showy flowers. They vary greatly when grown from seed and represent a wide range of color. The European verbena (Terhenii officinaUs) is a native of Eu- rope, but has become naturalized in North America. It is an annual with small purplish blossoms in slender panicled spikes. Verbena ieuoioides, a species cultivated in gardens for its large pinkish wliite floers. sweet-scented at A CULTIVATKD VAKIETY OF VERBENA. night, is a native of Brazil. Yerhena venosa, also from Brazil, jjroduces lilac flowers from June to October, and is frequently grown in beds or groups with other plants. Verbenas flourish in light garden soil, especially when fertilized with well-rotted manure. They are commonly propagated bj' seeds. The hard seeds of some species are steeped in warm water for an hour or two before sowing to cause a more rajnd ger- mination. The stems pegged down to the soil produce shoots from the a.xils of the leaves. VERBENACEJE (Xeo-Lat., noni )., from Lat. VI rljrnii. foliage, herbage, sacred bough, plant used as a cooling remedy). A natural order of about 70 genera and 800 species of chiefly tropi- cal dicotyledonous trees, shrubs, and herbs, allied to Labiata; in botanical characters, but without oil-glands on the leaves. Some are beautiful ornaments of flower-gardens and hothouses; some are highly esteemed for their fragrance. The fruit of some species, as Prenuia esculenta and species of Lantana, is eaten; the leaves of Stachytarpheta dichotoma or .Taniaicensis are used as a substitute for tea; and the timber of several is valuable, e.g. teak (q.v.) of India. The classification of Briqiiet, adopted by Eng- ler, is as follows: Stilboidcir, represented by Stilbe; Verbenoidea;, Verbena, Lantana, Lippia, Priva, Citharexylum ; Chloanthoidse, Chloanthes; ViticoideiB, Callicarpa, Teetona, Vitex, Cleroden- dron; Caryopteridoide*, Caryopteris; Symphore- moidip, Symphorema ; and Avieenniodea', with Avicennua the only genus. VERBOECKHOVEN, verljook-ho'ven, Eu- gene Joseph (1799-1881). A Belgian animal painter and etcher, born at Warneton, A'est Klan- ders, son and pupil of the sculptor, Bartheleniy Verboeckhoven (1759-1840). He visited England, Germany, France, and Italy, and settled at Brus- sels, where he painted numerous animal pieces, to be .seen in various galleries of Europe and America. Among the best are those in the gal- leries at Amsterdam, Berlin, and Munich. His etchings comprise "Etudes a I'eau-forte" (22 plates, 1839), "Etudes de paysages" (15 plates, 1839), and "Etudes d'animaux (13 plates, 1844). His brother Louis (1802-89), pupil of his father, was a marine painter. VERCELLI, ver-chel'le. A town in the Province of Xovara, Italy, situated in a low fertile plain, on the Sesia, 44 miles by rail west- southwest of ililan (Map: Italy, C 2). It is a thriving manufacturing and commercial town. It has retained its narrow, winding streets, but its ancient walls have given place to boulevards, those on the nortlnvest commanding magnificent views of the Alps. The seventeenth-century cathedral has a library containing a collection of valuable manuscripts. ( See Vekcelli Book. ) The thirteenth-century Romanesque-Gothic San An- drea, and the San Cristoforo, with a fine altar- piece by Gaudenzio Ferrari, are worthy of note. Vercelli has an institute of fine arts and a mu- seum of Roman antiquities. There are manufac- tures of silk, machinery, matches, silverware, and surgical instruments. Vercelli was the scene of Jlarius's victory over the C'imbri in B.C. 101. After liaving been ruled by the Visconti of Jlilan, it passed to Savov in 1429. Population (com- mune), in 1S81, 28,999; in 1901, 31,154. VERCELLI BOOK, or Codex Vercellensis. The name given to a valuable collection of Old Englisli or Anglo-.'^axon sermons and poems preserved in the library of the cathedral at Vercelli, Italy. This manuscript book was dis- covered in 1822. How it reached Italy is un- certain. It may have been taken out of England by Cardinal Guala, who in the reign of Henry III. was prior to Saint Andrew's, Chester. On his return to Italy the Cardinal built the Monas- tery of Saint Andrew, in Vercelli. It is to be noted that the longest poem in the manuscript is Andrcris, or the Lrtjrntl of Sriiiit Andrrir, one of the best of the Old English religious epics. Con- sult the facsimile copy of the Codex VerceUen- sis. by R. Wiilker (Leipzig, 1894); and see E.KETER Book. VERDANT GREEN, The Adventi'res of Mr. . college story by Cuthbert Bede (Rev. Edward Bradley), ))ublished. wilh illustrations by the author, in 1853. It narrates (he life of a simple-minded and gullible Oxford freshman surnamed 'Giglanips,' and was continiied and concluded in Talc/t of Onllege Life (1856) and Mr. Ynrdnnt Green }fiirried and Done For (]S5()). The title-character has become a pro- verbial type. VERDE, verd. Cape. See Cape Vebde.
