THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY

PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

ry-^

FLORA'S DICTIONARY.

BY A LADY.

In eastern lands they talk in flowers,
And they tell in a garland, their loves and cares;
Each blossom that blooms in their garden bowers

On its leaves a mystic language bears.

Percival.

Beautiful language ! Love's peculiar own.
Not for the cold, the careless, to impart,
By such eweet signs, the language of the heart.

Pickertgill.

Then gather a wreath from the garden bowers,
And tell the wish of thy heart in flowers.

Percival.

Baltimore :

PUBLISHED BY FIELDING LUCAS, JUN.

NO. 138, MARKET STREET.

Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1831, by FIELDING
LUCAS, Jun. in the Clerk'a Office of the district of Maryland.

ADAM WALDIE, PRINTER.

" Master T<ouis, where have you picked up so many trifles ?"

THIS noted remark of the Cardinal Hyppolito to the author of the " Orlando Furioso," on his presenting him with
the first copy of his work, would be much more appropriate to the present recueil, than to the "fine frenzy'' of
Ariosto. Yet one may be worse employed than in conversing with flowers. They are innocent companions, at
least ; and, in those hours in which the most industrious look for relaxation and amusement, it will be happy for us
if we find no society more noxious, than that of these pure and beautiful parts of the creation.

Do we make the most of the objects which surround us — do we extract from them all the information, and all
the innocent amusement which they are capable of affording ? The question is not addressed to the scientific ;
but to those, of whom the writer admits herself to be one, who are too often content to gaze with a vacant and
transient admiration at the works of the creation, and then to remember them no more. Here, for instance, is
this blooming earth : what an interest has the science of botany thrown over it ! Yet how few are there, among
us, who are disposed to taste of the banquet which this science affords ! — Again, these flowers interest us by
their beauty and fragrance, and here we stop. Travellers, however, assure us, that the people of the East see
something more in them than mere objects of admiration. In the hands of these primitive and interesting people,
they become flowers of rhetoric, and speak their feelings with far more tenderness and force than words can
impart. With them, there is something sacred in this mode of communication. It is a kind of religious wor-
ship— an offering of the fruits of the earth ; and, 1 hough addressed to an earthly object, it still retains something
of the sanctity which belonged to the rite from which it was probably borrowed, and is accompanied with a devo-
tion far more true, and deep, and touching, than the artificial homage which distinguished the courts of Europe,
even in the vaunted age of chivalry. Compared with modern manners, either in Europe or America, what is
there that can vie, in picturesque beauty, with the Persian youth, gracefully presenting a rose to his mistress ?
What language can convey a compliment so delicate and exquisite ? and if a communication of a still more
interesting nature be intended, how much more refined, poetic and affecting is the mute eloquence of the eastern
lover, than those awkward and embarrassing declarations which are in use in other countries ! How much easier
is it to present a flower, than to make a speech !

It is upon the hint suggested by this oriental custom, and for the purpose of trying, as a matter of curiosity,
how far this emblematic language could be carried, that the following collection has been made.

Mr. Percival tells us,

" Each, blossom that blooms in their garden bowers
On its leaves a mystic language bears."

Pity it is that we have no key to this mystic language of the East. Very few of their emblems have reached
us. So far as they are known, they have been adopted in this collection. A few others have been borrowed
from books and manuscripts. To supply the residue, which constitutes the far greater number, and to furnish
the whole with appropriate illustrations, has been the chief amusement out of which this petit jeu has grown.
Very few of the emblems have been attached without reason. In general, they have been suggested either by
some allusion to the specific flower in British poets, or by its botanical, or its popular name, or by some property
peculiar to it, such as its hue, form, odour, place and manner of growth, sensibility, medicinal virtue, or some

VV

other circumstance connected with its history or character. It would be idle to swell this preface, and to seek
to give consequence to a trifle so light and airy as this, by indicating, in every instance, the reasons which led to
the selection of the emblems : these will present themselves readily to the mind of the reader. A few, and but a
few of them have been arbitrarily assumed, and this only from the necessity of giving sufficient range and variety
to this symbolic language. If this be an objection, it applies with equal force to spoken language. For, although
such of our words as are intended to convey the idea of sounds, seem to be manifest imitations of these sounds,
and '• echoes to the sense," as they have been happily called, yet, the far greater part of the words which com-
pose our language, have no such resemblance, and must have been necessarily and arbitrarily assumed, in the
first instance, as signs of the ideas to which they were applied, and gradually adopted by common consent as
expressive of those ideas. The adoption once made, whether in oral or emblematical language, the application
of these conventional signs becomes as easy and accurate, and the use as great, as if there were a natural and
inherent relation between the signs and the ideas which they represent ; all that is necessary being, that the pur-
pose of the sign be understood in the same way by all who use it.

The quotations are designed as poetic translations of the several emblems to which they are respectively
applied. They are the language of the emblem rendered in verse : and, from the intrinsic beauty of most of
these quotations, may it not be added, that these are the flowers of poetry aptly employed in illustrating the
flowers of the earth ? Some of the lines are original contributions for this little work, and it is believed that they
will be found worthy of this association with established poets. In some instances answers are furnished ; these
may be tacitly made by returning a part of the same flower which has been presented.

The first rude sketch of this little divertissement having been shown to a few young friends, copies were asked
and given, and one of these, in the course of last year, found its way to the press in Boston, where, it is under-
stood, a few copies were struck, with great neatness and beauty of type and paper. The circumstance is men-
tioned merely to explain to those who may possess those copies, the identity of the work, and to exempt the lady
who has amused herself in compiling it, from any original purpose of publication. Since the collection has been
enlarged, it has become KO irksome to meet the request for manuscript copies, that it has been found expedient to
call in the aid of the press to save the time and labour of transcription. This request for copies, and the circum-
stance of its having been thought worthy of publication in Boston, while the little work was as yet an embryon
bud, induce the belief that the more expanded and finished form which it has now taken, will make it not unac-
ceptable to those who are themselves in the spring-time of life, the season of flowers and sentiment.

There are few little presents more pleasing to a Lady, than a bouquet of flowers ; and, if the donor be disposed
to give them greater significance, it will be easy, with this njanual before him, to make his selection in such a
way as to stamp intelligence and expression on a simple posy.

This mode of communication may be carried even beyond the proper season of flowers, by the aid of an herba-
rium, in which flowers are preserved by simple pressure between the leaves of an album. Such an herbarium
would be an ornament to a parlour table, and would, moreover, encourage and facilitate the study of botany : in
promotion of which latter object, a botanical glossary has been added to the work.

The Lady who has given her leisure hours to this little play of fancy, has not the vanity to attach any serious
consequence to it. The Itagatelh, she trusts, is too light to attract the grave censure of the critic by profession.
It has been an innocent recreation to herself; and it is with no higher expectation than of affording the like
amusement to others, that it is now given to the prese.

Baltimore.

STRUCTURE OF PLANTS.

A perfect plant consists of the root, the stem or trunk,
the stalk, the leaves, the flower, and the fruit.

Roots are either annual, lasting one year, as the Poppy,
Barley, &c. ; biennial, when produced in one year, and
flowering the next, as Wheat, Canterbury Bell, &c. ; or
perennial, when they last many years, as the Rose, Trees,
&c. There are various kinds of roots, some are bulbous,
as the Tulip and Onion ; tuberose, as the Potatoe and
Turnip ; fusiform, as the Carrot and Radish ; orjibrous, as
in Trees and Grasses. The root generally consists of two
parts ; the body and the fibres : the latter is the part
which imbibes nourishment from the earth for the support
of the plant. The seed of a plant committed to the ground,
swells by the moisture it imbibes, and, in a few days,
throws out two shoots ; the first strikes downward into
the soil, and forms the root or radical ; and the other forces
its way into the air. As soon as the young plant feeds
from the soil, it requires the assistance of leaves, which
are the organs by which the plant throws off its super-
abundant fluid. Vegetation is then essentially injured by
destroying the leaves of a plant. It not only diminishes
the transpiration, but also the absorption by the roots ;
for the quantity of sap absorbed is always in proportion to
the quantity of fluid thrown off by transpiration.

The Trunk, or Stem, is that part of a plant which pro-
duces the leaves and flowers, and serves to elevate them
above the ground. It consists, 1. Of the Epidermis, cuticle,
or exterior thin membranous covering, furnished with
pores, which transmit or throw off the excretory products
of vegetation; answering to the skin of animals. 2. The
Cor (ex, or outer bark, consists of vesicles and utricles, (small
membranous cavities or cells to receive the sap,) so very
numerous, and close together, as to form a continued coat-
ing. It is among these glands that the work of digestion
appears to be performed ; and the product of this elabora-
tion is after waids conveyed through the whole vegetable,
by vessels propagated through all its parts ; these conduits
even passing through the body of the tree, crossing the
ligneous strata. In this net-work it is that the colouring
matter of vegetables is decomposed : the light which
penetrates the Epidermis concurs in enlivening the colour :

here, likewise, it is that oils and resins are formed, by
the decomposition of water and the carbonic acid. 3. The
Liber, or inner bark, is the part in which the vital principle
of a plant is chiefly seated ; its parts are easily detached
from each other ; their laminae, (fibrous scales or layers,)
are not extended lengthwise along the stem, but are curved
in various directions ; and leave openings, or meshes be-
tween them, which are filled by the cellular matter itself,
and it is from their resemblance to the leaves of a book, that
they have been called liber. It is this part of the bark on
which the ancients wrote, before the invention of parch-
ment, or paper. In proportion as these coatings approach
the ligneous body, or wood, they become hard ; and at
length form the external softer part of the wood, which
workmen call the sap. The wood or ligneous part of the
plant, is a compact fibrous substance, formed by new
layers, which are added, every year, from the innermost
part of the bark ; so that the age of a tree, or shrub, may
be ascertained by the number of ligneous circles which
appear upon cutting the stem near the root.

The bark is the most essential part of the vegetable, by
means of which the principal functions of life, such as
nutrition, digesting the secretions, &c. are performed.

The bark of a tree is only a congeries of the roots of the
individual buds of the plant. These roots spread them-
selves over the last year's bark, making a new bark over
the old one, and thence descending, cover with a new
bark the old roots also.

The wood, or ligneous part, is not essential, many plants
being without it ; such as grasses, reeds, and all plants
that are hollow within.

The hollow Oak-trees, and Willows, are often seen with
the whole wood decayed and gone, and yet the few re-
maining branches flourish with vigour.

Grasses, properly speaking, have only the cortical part.
The thin outside cover of the bark is of great consequence
to them : it is of great strength, and appears to be con-
stituted of a sort of glassy net-work, which is chiefly
siliceous earth, as has been lately ascertained. This is
the case in the Wheat, Oat, and in different plants.

The Stalks are those parts which branch out from the

stem, and support the leaves, flowers, or fruits ; as the
straw in grasses ; the flower stalks, leaf stalks, &c.

The Pith is a tolerably firm juicy substance, which is
diffused through the inner part of the stalk, to give energy
and vigour to the whole ; it is abundant in young plants,
diminishes as they grow up, and at length totally disap-
pears.

The Sap is the fluid which nourishes the plant. The
warmth of the spring dilates the vessels of plants, produc-
ing a kind of vacuum, into which the sap rises ; but,
when the cold weather returns, the fibres and vessels con-
tract, the sap is forced down into the root; the leaves
wither, and are no longer able to perform their offices of
transpiration; the secretions stop, the roots cease to ab-
sorb sap from the soil, and if the plant be annual, its life
then terminates ; if not, it remains in a state of torpor
during the winter. The basis of this juice, which the
roots suck up from the soil, is water.

Heat promotes vegetation ; it excites the activity of
plants ; it increases the disposition of some of their con-
stituent parts for new attraction and combination, to ob-
tain such substances as may be requisite and proper for
new growth ; it likewise causes them to reject such mat-
ters as would be hurtful to them ; it hastens the dissolu-
tion or digestion, the formation and secretion of their
different products. It enables them to dispose of their
superabundant portion of fluids, by promoting perspiration
and evaporation. Yet the heat must not be too great, or
continued for too long a time, as it occasions a too rapid
digestion, and perspiration of their nourishment, and con-
sequently an exhaustion.

Plants have an independent heat of their own. But, if
it be difficult to account for the spontaneous production of
heat in animal bodies, as all physiologists have found, it
must be much more so to account for the generation of
vegetable heat. Light, and atmospheric air, at least, arc
known to be essential to the vital functions of both.

In all decomposition, caloric, or heat, is disengaged, and
may not the chemical process which takes place within
the plant, supply it with the heat which they are acknow-
ledged to possess, and which, it is asserted, tempers the
cold of the atmosphere ; while the evaporation which takes
place through the whole plant, continually moderates the
scorching heat of the sun ?

Dr. Hunter observed, upon this independent heat, that

by keeping a thermometer placed in a hole made in a sound
or healthy tree, it constantly indicated a temperature se-
veral degrees above that of the atmosphere, when it was
below the fifty-sixth division of Fahrenheit ; whereas the
vegetable heat in hotter weather was always several de-
grees below that of the atmosphere. The same philoso-
pher has likewise observed, that the sap which, out of the
tree, would freeze at 32°, did not freeze in the tree unless
the cold were augmented 15° more.

But the most remarkable instance of heat in plants
upon record, is what is related of the Arum maculatum.
Lamarck sa3's, in his Flore Fran^aise, " that when the
flowers are in a certain state of perfection, the spadix is
so hot as to seem burning, and not at all of the same tem-
perature as the surrounding bodies."

Mr. Senebier noticed that this heat began when the
sheath* was about to open, and the spadix\ just peeping
forth, and that it was perceptible from three or four o'clock
in the afternoon till midnight.

The Leaves consist of an immense number of fibres or
nerves, divided into two sets, one belonging to each sur-
face. The surface of the leaf is full of minute pores,
through which it imbibes the dew, air, &c. necessary to
the growth of the plant, so as to enable it, in some degree,
to dispense with supplies from the root ; as we see in
plants which live in the water, or swim in that element,
which serves them for food ; they have no roots, but receive
the fluid at all their pores, and, by decomposition, the
hydrogen gas of the water, which constitutes the chief
aliment of the plant, is separated, and becomes a principle
of the vegetable; while the oxygen gas, the other constituent
part of water, is thrown off by the vital forces, escaping by
the pores, where the action of light causes its disengage-
ment.— [See note 1st, upon Gas.]

Air is also necessary to the growth of a plant. But the
air which it requires is not the same appropriated to the
use of man.

Drs. Priestley and Ingenhousz have proved that it is the

* Sheath, or Spatke—a. kind of calyx that opens lengthwise, and
puts forth a flower-stalk or spadix, as in the palm arum, &rc.

It is also applied to the calyx of some flowers which have no spa-
dix, as of the narcissus, crocus, iris, <$-c. A membrane investing a
stem or branch, as in grasses.

t Spadix— the receptacle proceeding from a spatlic, as in the palm,
and some other plants, so called from being produced within a spatha,
or sheath.

nitrogen gas which more particularly serves them for ali-
ment. Hence it arises that vegetation is more vigorous
when bodies which afford this gas by their decomposition
are presented to the plant ; these are, animals, or vegeta-
bles, in a state of decomposition, or putrefaction.

Vital air, or oxygen gas, the other constituent part of
atmospheric air, is necessary to the respiration of man,
and other animals, and this air is copiously emitted by
vegetables : this renovation of the atmosphere being ne-
cessary to make up for the great consumption of it by
respiration and combustion.

Hence arises a mutual and essential dependence of the
animal and vegetable kingdoms upon each other. Ani-
mals, in breathing, consume the oxygen air, but return
the nitrogen for the use of the veg. viable ; while the vege-
table retains the nitrogen of the air, and the hydrogen of
the water, for its own use, and returns the oxygen for
ours. How admirable the designs of Providence, who
makes every different part of the creation thus contribute
to the support and renovation of each other!

The carbonic air dispersed in the atmosphere, or in
water, is also necessary to the vegetation of plants, in
order to provide their carbonic principle, which is a con-
stituent part of ihejibres, oils, mucilage, and other vege-
table principle. It is the basis of all vegetable matter. —
[See Note Zd, on Carbon.]

Buds of trees may be truly esteemed individual plants ;
and, if one of them be planted in the earth, with a cup in-
verted over it, to prevent its exhalation from being at first
greater than its power of absorption, it will produce a
tree similar to its parent.

Linnaeus observes, that trees and shrubs are roots above
ground ; for, if a tree be inverted, leaves will grow from
the root-part, and roots from the trunk part.

Buds and bulbs are all annual productions, termed, by
Linnaeus, the hybernacula, or winter cradles of the plant.
And Darwin observes, that the same term might properly
be applied to seeds also.

Each bud has a leaf, which is its lungs, appropriated to
it.

Leaves absorb carbonic acid gas, or fixed air, by their
upper surface, and give out oxygen gas, or pure respirable
air, by their under surface; as first discovered by Dr.
Priestley.

Dr. Ingenhousz improved upon this discovery, by observ-

ing light to be necessary to these functions ; remarking
that in the dark, leaves give out a bad, or carbonic air, and
that fruits and flowers almost invariably give out the
last mentioned kind of air, at all times, but especially in
the dark.

It has long been known that light acts beneficially upon
the upper surface of leaves, and hurtfully upon their under
side ; and, if the latter be repeatedly turned to the light,
or forcibly kept in such an unnatural position, the leaves
grow sickly, black, or discoloured ; as may be seen in
plants trained against a wall.

Some leaves, if separated from their parent branch, and
suspended by a slender thread, will turn their upper sur-
face to the light, and vary their position, as the sun pur-
sues his course. Sword-shaped leaves are an exception;
they have no upper or under surface, but are vertical, and
do not alter their position.

Light is considered as a stimulus or agent which de-
composes the various nutritive principles, to be found in
the air and water. It seems, in many instances, to be
the sole cause of the expansion of flowers and leaves ; for
when it is withdrawn, they fold together and droop, as if
dying ; this has been elegantly termed by Linnseus, " the
sleep of the plants ;" and the Mimosa pudica, or sensitive
plant, is a beautiful example of it. This plant, if kept in
a dark room, for a considerable lime, will require several
minutes' exposure to the solar light before the stimulus of
the liyht will dispose it to unfold, or expand its leaves.

Leaves always turn towards the light ; this is necessary
to the formation of their colour, as may be seen by the
common practice of blanching celery, endive, &c. by co-
vering them from the light ; and by plants raised in dark-
ness, which are of a sickly white.

Vegetables become destitute of smell as well as of co-
lour, and lose much of their combustibility by growing in
the dark. The celebrated Dr. Robertson, of Edinburgh,
gives an account of a plant found in the drain of a coal-
work under ground, which was very luxuriant, with large
indented foliage, and perfectly white. He had not seen
any thing like it, nor could any one inform him what it
was. He had the plant with a sod brought into the open
air in the light, when in a little time the leaves withered,
and soon after new leaves began to spring up, of a green
colour, and of a different shape from that of the old ones.
On rolling one of the leaves between his fingers, he found

that it had the smell of common Tansy, and ultimately
proved it to be that plant, which had been so changed by
growing in the dark. Indeed it was recollected, that
some soil had been taken into the drain from a neighbour-
ing garden, some time before it was found so altered.

It has been ascertained, by experiment, that the green
colour of vegetables may be produced by the light of a
lamp, in the absence of the more perfect light of the sun;
as discovered by the Abbe Tessier.

Leaves give out moisture by their under surface, in pro-
portion to the intensity of light, and not of heat; so that
there is scarcely any evaporation during the night. The
water which exhales from vegetables is not pure, but
serves as the vehicle of the aroma ; it is equal to the third
part of their weight every twenty-four hours, in healthy
plants.

Leaves also expose the sap which they receive from the
wood, to the action of the air, and return it again to the
bark by its fibres or vessels. They also serve to nourish
and prepare the buds of the future shoots, which are always
formed at the base of the leaf stalk, and to shade them, as
well as the fruit, from the too powerful heat of the sun.
Hence it is, that in tropical countries the tree is never
divested of the leaf.

Water is the only aliment which the root draws from the
earth ; and a plant can live and propagate itself, without
any other assistance than the contact of water and air ; as
may be seen every day, in the Hyacinth, and other bulbous
plants, which adorn our mantlepieces, as well as gramine-
ous, or grassy plants, such as wheat, &c. raised in saucers
or bottles, containing mere water.

In vegetables, hydrogen is the principle which fixes
itself, while oxygen gas (the other constituent part of
water) makes its escape.

But although pure water is more proper for vegetation,
than water charged with salts, yet water may be disposed
in a more favourable manner to the developement of vege-
tables, by charging it with the remains of vegetable and
animal decomposition : the plant then receives juices al-
ready assimilated to its nature. Independent of those
juices already formed, the nitrogen gas (which has already
been mentioned, as constituting one of the nutritive prin-
ciples of plants) is abundantly afforded by the alteration
of vegetables and animals, and must facilitate their devel-
opement.

Although it has been proved, by various experiments,
that pure water is sufficient to the support of plants, we
must not, therefore, consider the earth as of no use ; it
imbibes and retains water ; it is the reservoir destined by
nature to preserve the elementary juice which the plant
continually requires ; and to furnish that fluid in propor-
tion to its wants, without exposing it to the equally fatal
alternatives of being either inundated, or dried up.

The nature of the soil must be varied accordingly as
the plant requires a more or less considerable quantity of
water, in a given time ; and accordingly as its roots ex-
tend to a greater or less distance. Every kind of earth
is not suitable for every plant ; and, consequently, a slip
cannot be grafted, indifferently, upon every species.

A proper soil, is one which affords a sufficiently firm
support to prevent the plant from being shaken ; which
permits the roots to extend themselves to a distance with
ease; which becomes impregnated with humidity, and
retains the water sufficiently, that the plant may not be
without it when wanted.

To answer these several conditions, it is necessary to
make a proper mixture of the primitive earths, for none
of them in particular possesses them.

Siliceous (white sand) and Calcareous (limy) rnay be
considered as hot and drying ; the Argillaceous (clayey),
moist and cold ; and the Magnesium, (a primitive earth,
having for its base a metallic substance, called Magnesium,
generally found in combination with other substances,) as
possessing intermediate properties. Each, in particular,
has its faults, which render it unfit for culture : clay ab-
sorbs water, but does not communicate it; calcareous
earth receives and gives it out quickly ; but the properties
of these earths are so happily opposed, that they correct
each other by mixture. Accordingly we find, that, by add-
ing lime to an argillaceous earth, this last is divided ; and
the drying property of the lime is mitigated, at the same
time that the stiffness of the clay is diminished.

Saline substances have been supposed of importance in
vegetation by some, but they do not appear essential to
the growth of any sort of plant except the Marine ; such
matters may, however, be of use to vegetation, though not
essential to it. That of common salt may operate upon
plants as it does upon the human body, by assisting to
digest the food, without furnishing nutriment itself.

It is upon this principle, I presume, that common table

salt mixed with water in a flower pot, will expedite the
opening of a rose-bud, or other flower, when plucked from
the parent branch.

Here I will observe, that if a small bit of nitre be added
to the pure water, in a vase containing flowers ; the water
changed every day, and a small piece of the flower-stalk
cut off each time of the change of water, the freshness of
the flowers may be preserved for a considerable length of
time.

Secretions. — The sap, when exposed to the action of the
air, light, and heat, by the leaves, becomes a new fluid,
which assumes the peculiar flavour and qualities of the
plant. Gum is one secretion, which oozes from the cherry,
and other trees ; resin, and turpentine, are of the same
nature ; as is, also, the milky juice of the fig, poppy, &c.
Almost all the fruit trees yield some sort of gum. And a
species of the Acacia tree, in Arabia, yields the Gum
Arabic, which is the chief nourishment of the nations of
those parts, who obtain it in great quantities from inci-
sions which they make in the trees. This Gum Arabic
is now in frequent use in our own country ; and forms a
good aliment for young children ; particularly when on a
sea voyage, where milk cannot be commanded.

Another secretion is Caoutchouc, or Indian rubber, which
is obtained from several species of trees in South America
and the East Indies. The botanic names of the two
species found in Cayenne, S. A. are Hacvea caoutchouc and
Jatropha elastica. The fluid is collected from the tree
by incision ; the colour is, at first, a yellowish white, but,
by exposure to the air, it becomes dark. Moulds made of
clay, in the form of bottles, shoes, &,c. are dipped into it
repeatedly, and afterwards dried, and, when of a sufficient
thickness, the clay moulds are easily crushed, and the
pieces emptied out.

The natives make vessels of it for containing water and
other liquids; and, while soft, all sorts of designs are traced
upon it. On account of its inflammability, it is used, at
Cayenne, for torches. When warmed, it gives out a pecu-
liar odour, but not an unpleasant one ; from its smoke, a
considerable quantity of very fine lamp black may be col-
lected.

Rectified oil of turpentine, at common temperature,
will afford a complete solution of it ; and, when mixed
with a solution of wax, in boiled linseed oil, it composes
an elastic varnish, with which they cover balloons ; and

which might be applied to a variety of useful purposes.

The fresh cut surface of the Caoutchouc will unite to-
gether by simple contact, and, by a proper pressure, may
be brought so completely in union, as to be no more liable
to separate in that part, than any other.

The Caoutchouc, when cut in slips and softened by im-
mersion in boiling water, may be drawn out to seven or
eight times its original length, and will afterwards, by its
elasticity, resume very nearly its former dimensions. Dur-
ing its extension, a very sensible warmth is produced, as
may be discovered by applying it between the lips.

Another secretion to be found in every vegetable, in a
greater or less degree, is sugar ; but generally mixed with
gum, sap, or other ingredients. It abounds most in fruits,
and roots — as the beet, carrot, &c. : but, more particularly
in the Saccharum, or sugar-cane.

The odour of plants, is a volatile oil of a resinous na-
ture, communicated to the surrounding atmosphere. This
volatile oil is sometimes distributed through the whole
plant, as in the Bohemia Angelica ; sometimes it exists
in the bark, as in Cinnamon. Balm and Mint contain
their oils in the stem and leaves; Elicampane, and the
Iris of Florence, in the root ; Rosemary and Thyme, in
their leaves and buds ; Lavender, and the Rose, in the
calyx of their flowers ; Chamomile, Lemon, and Orange
Trees, in the petals. Many fruits contain it through their
whole substance, such as Peppers, Juniper, &c. ; Oranges
and Lemons, in the zest or peeling which encloses them,
&c.

Fecula is the general name given to the farinaceous
substance contained in all seeds, and in some roots — as
Wheat, Indian corn, the Potato, Parsnip, &c. : it is in-
tended by Nature for the first aliment of the young plant.

Colour. — The fixed colours of opaque bodies are, in all
probability, owing to their absorbing some of the coloured
parts of white light, or rays of the sun, and reflecting
others ; their immense variety arising from a mixture of
the reflected primitive colours, in various number and
proportion. It is impossible to say upon what cause the
disposition of reflecting certain colours, in preference to
others, may depend. The probability is, that it arises
from the different textures of the surfaces.

There are some flowers, the petals of which are, in dif-
erent parts of the same leaf, of different colours ; as of the
Heart's Ease, for instance, which, if examined with a good

microscope, will be found to have a different textmre of the
blue and yellow parts. The texture, also, of the white and
red Rose is very different.

It is from reflected rays that we judge of the colour of
objects. The whiteness of paper, «fcc. is occasioned by its
reflecting the greatest part of all the rays of light that fall
upon it : the blackness of bodies, from their absorbing all
the seven coloured rays.

The whiteness of the sun's light arises from the union
of all the primitive colours. These primitive colours are,
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet; ac-
cording to Sir Isaac Newton. Dr. Wollaston, who has
performed many experiments on the refraction of light, in
a more accurate manner than had been previously done,
confines them to four colours only — red, green, blue, and
violet.

Colours. — Some philosophers say there are only three
original and truly distinct, viz : the red, yellow, and blue.

Providence seems to have decorated Nature with an
enchanting diversity of colours, for the purpose of beauti-
fying the scene, and rendering it a sou -ce of sensible gra-
tification. His kindness is also evident in causing such
a construction of plants and grasses, as that green, the
colour most grateful and beneficial to the eye, should
predominate.

Colours are but phantoms of the day,

With that they 're born, with that they fade away ;

Like beauty's charms, they but amuse the sight,

Dark in themselves, till by reflection bright ;

With the sun's aid, to rival him. they boast,

But light withdrawn, in their own shades are lost.

Hughes.

Fairest of beings ! first created light !

Prime cause of beauty '. for from thee alone,

The sparkling gem, the vegetable race,

The nobler worlds that live and breathe their charms,

The lively hues peculiar to each tribe,

From thy unfailing source of splendour draw.

HYMN TO LIGHT.

* * * *
Say, from what golden quivers of the sky

Do all thy winged arrows fly ?
Swiftness and power by birth are thine :
From thy great sire they came, thy sire, the word divine.

* * * *

When, goddess! thou lift'st up thy waken'd head,

Out of the morning's purple bed,

Thy quire of birds about thee play,
And all the joyful world salutes the rising day.

* * » *

All the world's bravery, that delights our eyes,

Is but thy several liveries ;

Thou the rich dye on them bestow'st,
Thy nimble pencil paints this landscape as thou go'st.

A crimson garment in the rose thou wear'st,

A crown of studded gold thou bear' st ;

The virgin-lilies, in their white,
Are clad but with the lawn of almost naked light.

The violet, spring's little infant, stands

Girt in thy purple swaddling-bands ;

On the fair tulip thou dost dote ;
Thou cloth'st it in a gay and party-colour'd coat.
» * * *

Cowley.

-Hither emerging from yon orient skies,

Mallet.

Botanic Goddess ! bend thy radiant eyes ;
O'er these soft scenes assume thy gentle reign,
Pomona, Ceres, Flora, in thy train.

* * * #

She comes ! the Goddess ! through the whispering air,
Bright as the morn, descends her blushing car;
Each circling wheel a wreath of flowers entwines,
And, gem'd with flowers, the silken harness shines ;
The golden bits with flowery studs are deck'd,
And knots of flowers the crimson reins connect.
And now, on earth, the silver axle rings,
And the shell sinks upon its slender springs ;
Light from her aiiy seat the goddess bounds,
And steps celestial press the pansied grounds.

Darwin.

'

FLOWERS.

THERE are seven parts to a flower — the Calyx, Corolla,
Stamens, Pistils, Pericarpium, Seed, and Receptacle,

The Calyx, sometimes called the flower cup, is formed
of one or more green or yellow leaves, situated at a small
distance from, or close to, the blossom ; its chief use is to
support and protect the other parts of the flower ; it is
the envelope in which, in most cases, the tender flower
lies, for a time, concealed, as the green leaves of a rose-
bud, which cover the blossom, and burst as the flower
opens. In the rose, it is situated above the germen, or seed
vessel ; . but, in the pea, it will be found beneath the seed
vessel.

When remote from the flower, as in the Carrot, and
other umbelliferous plants, [3] it is called an Involucre.
When contiguous to the flower, or other parts of the fruc-
tification, as in the Primrose, &c. it is called a Perianth.

Some flowers have no Calyx, as the Tulip— others have
them double, as in the Mallow ; but most flowers have them
single, as in the Primrose.

Linnceus considered the Calyx as a prolongation of the
cortex, or outer bark of the plant.

Calyx. — The Perianth is not changed in double flowers :
hence the genus, or family, may be often discovered by
the calyx.

The Corolla is formed by the delicate leaves called the
blossom ; as the red leaves of a rose, each one of which is
called a Petal. It is distinguished from the Perianth by
the fineness of its texture, and, generally, by the gayness
of its colours. The corolla is considered the termination
of the inner bark, or Liber.

The Stamens are threads within a flower, which have
two parts; the filament, or slender part by which they are
fastened to the flower ; and the anther (which holds the
pollen, or fine powder) situated on the top of the filament.
They are seated externally with respect to the pistils, in-
ternally with respect to the calyx and corolla. They are
inserted either into the calyx, the corolla, or the recepta-
cle, rarely either upon the germen, or the style. Their

number differs in different genera and species of flowers,
from one to a hundred or more.

The Stamens, according to their number, situation, and
proportion, furnish the leading principles of distinction in
the artificial, or sexual, system of Linnaeus. These or-
gans are liable to be changed into petals, in what are
termed double flowers; and, if the change be complete, the
flower will no longer bear a perfect seed.

Double flowers become what is botanically termed vege-
table monsters, by the multiplication of their petals, or
nectaries.

In those flowers which have many petals, the lowest
series of the petals remain unchanged in respect to num-
ber : hence, the natural number of the petals is easily dis-
covered, as in poppies, roses, nigella, &c.

The Pistils are the threads situated in the centre of the
flower ; adhering to the fruit, for the reception of the
pollen. A perfect pistil consists of three parts, the germen,
style, and stigma. The thickest part, at the bottom of the
pistil, is called the germen, or seed-bud, and contains the
rudiments of the young fruit, or seed ; the style stands
upon the germen, and serves to elevate the stigma, or
highest part of the pistil. The style is various in length,
and thickness, but not always present. The stigma which
is indispensably necessary, is, in some cases, seated imme-
diately upon the germen. The shape of the stigma is
either simple, being little more than a point ; or it is capi-
tate, like a pin's head, as in the Primrose. In most
grasses, the stigmas are amply branched or feathery, to
detain the pollen. In the Mallow tribe, there is an abun-
dance of viscid moisture evident in the stigma, and their
rich purple, or scarlet colour, contrasts beautifully with the
large yellow pollen, whose bursting, or explosion, may
almost be seen with the naked eye.

The Pericarpium, or seed-vessel, is the germen grown
to maturity. It varies extremely, being pulpy in apples,
fleshy in cherries, juicy in gooseberries, and hard in nuts.
In other words, the fruit which we eat, is nothing more

than the pericarps, serving to protect the seeds till
ripe.

The Seed is that part of every plant by which it is
propagated. The part of the seed which contains the future
plant is the germen, vulgarly called the eye, no seed being
capable of vegetation, if this be defective. The Anthera,
or apex of the stamen, is provided with a fine dust, called
the pollen, which, falling on the gummy matter at the top
of the pistillum, or pistil, is there absorbed, and carried
down into the germen, or seed-vessel, where the seed is
perfected and made capable of reproducing the plant.

The Receptacle is the seventh part of fructification,
distinguished by Linnaeus; being the common basis, or
point of connection, of the others. It is not always dis-
tinguished by any particular figure. In simple flowers, it
is, often, little more than a point : in compound flowers, it
is very remarkable, and important, serving, by its differ-
ences of structure, to afford very good generic distinctions.

The receptacle of the fructification is common both to
the flower and the fruit, or it embraces the corol and the
germ.

A proper receptacle belongs to one fructification only ;
a common receptacle connects several florets, or distinct
fructifications.

In some plants the receptacle undergoes great changes,
acquiring a different texture in the fruit, from what it had
in the flower. Thus, the whole fruit, as we call it, of the
Fig, is a common receptacle, at first coriaceous, (resembling
leather, or tough,) and, like the rest of the plant, contain,
ing a milky acrid juice. It forms a bag, lined with florets,
or small flowers, and having a small aperture at the top ;
after the flowers are past, this bag becomes pulpy, colour-
ed, and full of sweet aromatic juice. So the fruit of the
Strawberry is, originally, a small, dry receptacle, subse-
quently enlarged, and become pulpy, whose outside is
studded with naked seeds.

The Receptacle of the flower, in Linntean language,
means the area, or space between the stamens and styles,
in certain genera whose germen is inferior ; as the whole
umbelliferous order, Hemlock, Parsley, &c. in which the
part in question is more or less tumid, often coloured, and
assumes a glandular aspect.

According to another definition, the Receptacle of the
flower, is the base to which the parts of the flower, exclu-
sive of the germen, are fixed.

Nectary, or honey -cup, is that part of the flower, from
which bees, and other insects, extract the honey ; a fluid
found almost universally in flowers.

The shape and structure of the nectarium, or nectary,
is extremely various ; but commonly uniform in flowers of
the same genus ; very frequently, indeed, supplying the
most clear and decisive marks, by which one genus is
distinguished from another.

In the Crown Imperial, the nectary is a mere cup, or
depression ; in the Lily, a bordered furrow in the claw of
each petal ; in the Violet, the base of one petal is elongated
into a spur, or bag, containing the honey ; in the Nastur-
tium, the nectariferous spur is an elongation of the calyx.

In the Epimedium, or Sarron-wort, the nectary is of
the nature and texture of petals, but perfectly distinct
from them, as well as from the calyx ; while, in the Lark-
spur, and Columbine, there are nectaries more or less
agreeing with their petals, but no calyx. Hence, some
botanists reckon their petals, though coloured, the calyx,
and their nectaries the only corolla. The neighbouring
genus Ranunculus, whose nectaries are pores in the claws
of its petals, certainly gives weight to such a determina-
tion.

Some flowers display an elaborate apparatus, which
cannot be demonstrated to have any concern in the secret-
ing, or holding the honey. Such are the five green bodies,
fringed with bristles, each of which bears a globe, in the
elegant Parnassia, or Grass of Parnassus. These, not
being referable to any other of the usual parts of fructifica-
tion, all of which are present besides, are, by analogy, pre-
sumed to be nectaries.

The numerous and complex rays which decorate the
Passion Jlower, are equally inexplicable in their nature.
But they crown the cell where the copious honey is lodged,
while their cellular texture, and vivid variegation of colour,
indicate their connection with air and light, two great
probable agents in the secretion of that saccharine fluid ;
nor does it appear at all improbable, that they share in its
elaboration. In other cases, the richly coloured petals of
flowers possibly answer the same end.

ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS.

Flowers are arranged into Classes, Orders, Genera, and
Species.

Linnasus has divided the vegetable kingdom into twenty-
four classes, which are subdivided into orders. Distinc-
tions in each order produce a further division into genera ;
and genera are again subdivided into species.

A Class has been aptly described as bearing some re-
semblance to an army, an order to a regiment, a genus to a
company, and a species to a soldier.

In distinguishing a plant, two words are employed ; the
first, which is called the generic name, is common to all
the species of the same genus ; and the second, termed the
specific name, is confined to a single species ; as Rosa mus-
cosa, the botanical name for the Moss Rose. Here, rosa
is the generic name applicable to the whole genus or fami-
ly of roses ; and muscosa is the specific name, used to dis-
tinguish the particular kind or species of rose.

The families, or genera, are characterised by the ana-
logy of all the parts of the flower, or fructification. The
species axe distinguished by the foliage of the plant ; and
the varieties, by an accidental circumstance of colour,
taste, or odour. The seeds of these do not always pro-
duce plants similar to the parent : this is more certainly
accomplished by grafts or layers.

CLASS.

The names of the classes are formed of Greek words,
expressive of the characters of each class. Those of the
first ten may be easily remembered, by considering the
word andria, as meaning stamens, and annexing, it to the
Greek numerals.

The first ten classes are distinguished simply by the
number of the stamens ; except the fourth and sixth —
these have stamens of the same length. The fourth has
four of the same length — the sixth, six of the same length.

THE NAMES OF THE CLASSES.

1. Monandria — 1 stamen — as in the Ginger, Cardamo-

mom, Arrow root, Turmeric, &.c.
The plants of this class are very few,
and chiefly found in tropical coun-
tries. There are none of this class
introduced into this Dictionary.

2. Diandria — 2 stamens — as in the Lilac, Jasmine,

Sage, Fringe tree, &c.

3. Triandria — 3 stamens, as in the Spring Crocus, Iris,

&c. In this class is found all the
different species of Grasses that cover
our fields, as also Wheat, Rye, Oats,
Sugar-cane, &c.

4. Tetrandria — 4 stamens, as in the Dogwood, Holly,

&c.

5. Pentandria — 5 stamens, as in the Violet, Parsley,

Flax, Hemlock. This is the most
numerous of all the classes, and
comprehends more than one-tenth of
the plants at present known. In
this you find the Potato, Deadly
Night Shade, Tomato, Capsicum,
Tobacco plant, Coffee-tree, Currant,
Gooseberry, &c.

6. Hexandria — 6 stamens, as in the Rice, Sorrel, As-

paragus, Lily, &c.

7. Heptandria — 7 stamens, as in the Horse-ehesnut,

tm

There are fewer plants in this
class than in any other.

8. Octandria — 8 stamens, as in the Whortleberry,

Evening Primrose, &c.

9. Enneandria — 9 stamens, as in the Laurel, Rhubarb,

&c.

10. Decandria — 10 stamens, as in the Locust tree, Rue,

Pink, &c.

11. Dodecandria — has from twelve to nineteen stamens

in each flower, as in the Mignonette,
House leek, &c.

12. Icosandria — 20, or more stamens, attached to the

calyx, or sometimes, in part, to the
corolla. In this class the calyx is
always of one piece, divided at its
border, and usually permanent.
The character of this class indicates
the pulpy fruits, which belong to it,
to be wholesome. " Sir J. E. Smith
has observed, that no traveller, in
the most unknown wilderness, need
to be afraid to eat the fruit of any
plant whose stamens grow upon the
calyx."

The apple, cherry, pear, plum,

&c. belong to this class ; as do the
Rose, Hawthorn, &c.

Flowers that &re.douUe ought not
to be consulted, as they lose their
distinctive characters ; and are,
therefore, useless to the botanist.

The Dog-rose, or Rosa canina,
which grows wild in the woods, is
a good specimen of this class.

13. Polyandria — has generally more than twenty sta-

mens, sometimes less. The charac-
ter depends on the part to which
they are attached, which is the re-
ceptacle. The calyx of this class (if
the flower have one) consists of two
or more leaves, which generally fall
off so soon as the blossom opens.

It is important to preserve the
twelfth and thirteenth classes dis-
tinct ; as some late botanists have
injudiciously united them into one
class. In this class is found the
Butter-cup, Larkspur, Poppy, &c.

14. Didynamia — has two short and four long stamens —

as in the Snap Dragon, Mint, Thyme,
Lavender, &c.

All plants of this class, which
have naked seeds, are aromatic.

15. Tetradynamia — two short and four long stamens —

as in the Wall Flower, Cabbage, Ra-
dish, Turnip, etc.

The more readily to distinguish
this class from the sixth, in which
the stamens are of equal length, it
may be noticed that the flowers of
the 15th class have always four petals,
which form a cross, being regularly
placed in pairs opposite to each other,
and are thence called cruciform or
cross-shaped.

In the 16th, 17th, and 18th

classes, the stamens are united, by

the lower parts of the filaments, into

parcels or brotherhoods.

16. Monadelphia — The stamens are all united in a

tube around the pistil, forming one
brotherhood. They are united at the
bottom, but separated at the top.
In this class are the beautiful family
of Geraniums, the Cotton Plant,
Mallow, &c.

17. Diadelphia — The stamens are united into two bro-

therhoods or parcels. The flowers
belonging to this class are all of the
same form, called papilionaceous, or
butterfly-shaped — as the Pea, Clover,
Broom, &c.

18. Polyadelphia — The stamens are collected into more

than two sets, each parcel united at
the bottom by the filaments. This
class does not contain many plants.
In it are found the Orange, St.
John's Wort, &c.

19. Syngenesia — The stamens are united by their an-

thers, into a tube, but the filaments
are separate. The Dandelion, Sun
Flower, &c. are in this class.

20. Gynandria — The stamens grow out of the pistil, as

in the Ladies Slipper, Orchis, &c.
" Linnaeus included in this class all
plants of which the parts in question
were in any sense united above the
receptacle of the flower. Thus
Passiflora, or the Passion flower,
whose germen is elevated on a co-
lumnar basis, and the stamens in-
serted into the summit of the same
part, just below it, was considered
as Gynandrous. Such a principle is
attended with great inconvenience,
as in Grewia, an oriental shrub,
some species of which have a consi-
derable elevation of the germen, and
others little or none. It is found,
therefore, by far most convenient,
not to consider such insertion or
union at all as the character of a
class or order, unless it takes place
upon or above the germen; or, in other
words, unless the stamens grow out

of the germen or style. Such is the
case decidedly in all the natural
family of OrchidecB, or Orchis tribe,
as well as in Forestera and Stylidium.
On these the class remains very
firmly established." — See Rces's Cy-
clopedia.

21. Moncecia — The stamens and pistils are in separate

flowers, but on the same plant ; as
in the Cucumber, Gourd, Palma-
Christi, Arbor Vita, Red Mulberry,
Box tree, Indian Corn or Zea, Oak,
Walnut, Pine, Amaranth, SfC.

22. Dicecia — The stamens and pistils in separate

flowers, and on separate plants ; as
in the Hop, Willow, Spinage, Hemp,
Juniper, Red Cedar, Yew, Poplar,
(Lombardy, and other Poplars,) Mis-
tletoe, &c.

23. Polygamia — The stamens variously situated ; the

stamens and pistils being sometimes
found in the same flower ; sometimes,
flowers with stamens only; others,
with pistils only, and these are placed
either on the same plant, or on two
or three different ones. Such a
diversity is very prevalent among
the trees of tropical climates, which
are, most of them, more or less poly-
gamous, as is the case also with many
grasses. Yet such a character, being
not always permanent, leads to much
difficulty in practice.

In this class are to be found the
Ash-tree, Fig, Maple, Mimosa pudica,
Acacia of Arabia, &c.

The writer of the article under
the head Polygamia, for Rees's Cy-
clopedia, suggests a limitation of this
class to those Genera which have a
difference of structure in the acces-
sory parts of their flowers, (the calyx,
corolla, &c.) independent of the
stamens and pistils ; flowers so con-
structed being permanently distinct ;

and asserts, that " if the class can-
not be supported on this foundation,
it must fall to the ground." Some
botanists have hastily abolished the
class altogether.

24. Cryptogamia — The flowers of this class invisible to
the naked eye. It includes Ferns,
Mushrooms, Mosses, Sea-weed, Li-
chens, or Liverwort, £c.

ORDERS OF THE FOREGOING CLASSES.

The names of the first thirteen orders are formed from
the Greek numerals, but with the addition of the word
gynia, instead ofandria. The first thirteen distinguished
entirely by the number of pistils. The styles to be count-
ed from their base. When the styles are wanting, the
number of stigmas determine the order.

NAMES OF THE FIRST THIRTEEN ORDERS :

Monogynia — 1 Pistil. Heptagynia — 7 Pistils.

Digynia — 2 Pistils. Octagynia — 8 Pistils.

Trigynia — 3 Pistils. Enneagynia — 9 Pistils.

Tetragynia — 4 Pistils. Decagynia — 10 Pistils.

Pentagynia — 5 Pistils. Dodecagynia — 12 Pistils.

Hexagynia — 6 Pistils. Poly gynia — Many Pistils.

The 14th Class has 2 Orders — Gymnospermia, seeds
naked at the bottom of the calyx ; as in Laven-
der, Mint, &c. And Angiospermia, where the
seeds are enclosed in a seed vessel ; as in the Fox
Glove. None of the Genera of the 14th or 15th
Classes have more than one style. The characters
of the Orders are, therefore, taken from the peri-
carp.

15th Class has 2 Orders ; distinguished by the form of
the pericarp, or seed vessel ; as Siliquosa, long
pods, as the Wall flower, &c. ; and Siliculosa,
short pods ; as Honesty, or Satin Flower.

The 16, 17, 18th Classes — In these the Orders are deno-
minated from the number of their stamens.

19th Class has 5 Orders — distinguished by the epithet
Polygamia. Intimating, that the flowers are
compound, and consist of numerous florets, or
small flowers, seated on a common receptacle.

1. Polygamia ^Equalis. — In this Order, all the florets

are equally possessed of stamens and
pistils ; as the Dandelion.

2. Polygamia Superflua. — The florets of the disk, or

central part of the flower, have both
stamens and pistils ; those of the ray, or
circumference, have only pistils : but the
latter, as well as the former, produce
fertile seeds ; as the China Aster.

3. Polygamia Frustanea. — The florets of the disk have

both stamens and pistils ; those of the
ray neither one nor the other, or are only
abortive pistils ; as the Sun Flower,
Arkansa coreopsis, &c.

4. Polygamia Necessaria. — The florets of the disk have

efficient stamens, but abortive pistils ;
those of the ray, fertile pistils, impreg-
nated by the stamens of the disk ; as
the Marigold, or Calendula.

5. Polygamia Segregata. — Distinguished by its doubly

compound flowers, — each floret having
its own calyx, in addition to that which
surrounds the common receptacle, and
forms the whole into one compound
flower ; as in the Globe Thistle.

20. 21. Classes. In these, the Orders have the same
names as the preceding classes, and are distin-
guished by the number of stamens, or by the
union either of the filaments, or of the anthers,
or by the attachment of the stamens to the pis-
tils.

22. This Class has 8 Orders — the first seven deno-

minated from the number of stamens. The
eighth order, Monadelphia, by the stamens being
united into one set ; as the Juniper, Yew, &c.

23. The Order, denominated from the number of the

houses, or plants, on which the several kinds of
flowers are to be found. It has three Orders :
Monoscia, when the stamens and pistils are in
separate flowers, but on the same plant. Diaecia,
having the stamniferous and pistiliferous flowers
on two separate plants. And Tricecia, when the
different kinds of flowers are distributed among
three distinct individual plants.
Linn&us devoted the greater part of his life to the study

of Botany. He was the first who pointed out the difference
between the natural and the artificial method of arrang-
ing plants. His sexual system is an example of the latter,
though many of its Classes, or Orders, happen to be like-
wise natural assemblages.

Many systems of classification have since been at-
tempted, but, notwithstanding the acknowleged merit of
these essays, the Linnsean system continues to be the
prevailing system, to which all the new Genera, consti-
tuted for plants since discovered, are regularly referred.
And it is to the advantage of the science, that it should,
for a long time yet to come, preserve its ascendency.

It is the system of Linnaeus that has chiefly been
adopted in this little compilation.

Bernard de Jussieu, the father of the French botanists,
deterred, by excess of modesty, from giving his ideas to
the world, was the first who laboured at a natural system
of arrangement.

It was not before the year 1759, when he was called up-
on, as Professor of Botany, to arrange the royal garden at
Trianon, that he ventured to give any publicity to the
natural system he had been projecting. What this was,
may be seen by his nephew Antony de Jussieu's Genera
Plantarum, published in 1789. Bernard de Jussieu be-
came acquainted with Linnaeus at Paris, in 1738, and was
quite aware of his merits, and disposed to allow them.

The Natural Orders, as arranged by A. de Jussieu from
his uncle's works, are also given in the glossary to this
work: he has fifteen Classes, and a hundred Orders. His
Orders are mostly named from some leading Genus, which
appears to me to be a more satisfactory arrangement.

Natural Orders of plants are such as are founded on
principles of natural affinity ; bringing together, under
one point of view, such Genera as have certain characters
in common, independent of all artificial modes of classi-
fication.

In the conception of his Orders, Linnaus ever kept the
fructification principally in view, though the names of
some few of them allude to the habit.
There are fifty-eight Natural Orders of Linnaeus.

NATURAL ORDERS OF LINN^US.

1. PalmcE — Palm Trees.

2. Piperitce — Arum and its allies.

3. CalamaritB — Grass-leaved plants, as Carex.

4.
5.

6.

7.

8.

9.
10.
11.
12.

13.
14.
15.

Gramina — True Grasses.

Tripetaloidea — Juncus, &c.

EnsataR — Sword-leaved plants.

Orchidea — Orchis tribe.

Scitamineae — Amomum, &c.

Spathaceae — Narcissus, Sec.

Coronaria — Liliaceous plants.

Sarmentacece — Convallaria, &c.

Holeraceae — Chenopodium, and various anomalous
genera.

Succulentae — Succulent plants.

Gruinales — Geranium tribe.

Inundates — consists of Zannichdlia, Ruppia, Po-
tamogeton, Myriophyllum, Ceratophyl-
lum, Proserpinaca, Elatine, and Hip-
puris. To these are added, in manu-
script, by Linnaeus, Chara Naias,
Aponogeton, Saururus, Serpicula, Calli-
triche, Lemna, and Pistia — rather a
vague assemblage altogether.

CalycifloroB — Osyris, Trophis, Hippopha, and Elas-
agnus.

Calycanthemos — Ejriloliium, Melastoma, &c.

Bicornes — Plants whose pollen is discharged by
two pores, or sometimes tubes, as .Erica,
Vaccinium, &c.

HesperidecB — Myrtle tribe.

Rotaceas — Anagallis, &c.

Preci<s — Primula, &,c,

Caryophyllei — Pink, Campion, &c.

TrihilataR — Maple, &c.

Corydales — Fumaria, &c.

Putaminea — Capparis, &c.

MultisiliqucE — Helleborus, &c.

RhcRotdecB — Poppy tribe.

Luridee — Night Shade tribe.

Campa.nace(E — Convolvulus, Campanula, &c.

ContortoB — Asclepias, Apocynum, &c.

Vepreculte — Daphne, and its allies.

Papilionaceos — Pea kind.

Lomentacea — Cassia, Mimosa, &c.

CucurbitaceaR — Gourd family.

16.

17.

18.

19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.

Note 1.— GAS.

Gas is an aeriform fluid, composed of two parts. 1.
The particular substance that is converted into gas, by
heat or caloric. 2. The Caloric, which, by its chemical
combination with the basis, constitutes a gas, or perma-
nently elastic fluid, capable of existing in an aeriform
state, under the pressure, and at the temperature of the
atmosphere.

To form a gas, or permanently elastic fluid, a chemical

35. Senticoseec — Rose, Bramble, &c.

36. PomaceaR — Apple, Pluin, <fcc.

37. ColumnifertE — Mallow tribe.

38. TricocccB — Euphorbia, &c.

39. SiliquoatE — Cruciform plants. This order Linnaeus

indicates as having no relationship to
any other. It constitutes the Tetrady-
namia.

40. Pereonatee — Nearly equivalant to the Didynamia

Angiospermia.

41. AsperifolitB — Myosotis, Borago, &c.

42. Verticillatce — Answerable to the Didynamia Gym-

nospermia, with a few ringent Dian-
drous genera.

43. Dumosce — Rhamnus, Euonymus, Ilex, Vibernum,

&c.

44. Sepiariee — The Jasmine tribe.

45. Umbellate — Umbelliferous plants — as Parsley, Hem-

lock, &c.

46. Hederacees — Ivy, and its allies, including Vitis.

47. Stellatea — Galium, Madder, &c.

48. Aggregates — Compound flowers, with separate an-

thers, as Scabiosa Protea — with some
of their supposed allies.

49. Composites — Compound flowers, with combined an-

thers, divided into capitata, as the
Thistle : Semiflosculosoi — Dandelion :
DiscoideoR — Tansy, Aster, &c. Oppo-
sitifolice — Sun flower : Nucamentacees
— Wormwood : Parthenium, Xanthium,
&c.

50. Amentacea — Willow, Oak, &c.

51. Conifera — Fir, Juniper, &c.

52. CoadunateB — Magnolia, &c.

53. Scabridce — Nettle, Fig, &c.

54. Miscellanea — A heterogeneous assemblage, latterly

much diminished.

55. Filices — Ferns.

56. Musci — Mosses.

57. MgtE — Sea weeds, Lichens, &c.

58. Fungi — The Fungus tribe.

combination must take place between the caloric and the
substance, at the time of its being converted into a gase-
ous state. This combination cannot be destroyed, except
by the aid of some chemical agent that has a stronger
affinity for either of the constituents of the gas.

Vapour is an elastic fluid, bearing a strong resemblance
to a gas ; but vapour is nothing more than the solution, or
mechanical division, of any substance whatever in caloric.
Caloric in vapour is only latent, and not chemically com-

bined : its union is so slight, as to be separated by simply
lowering the temperature.

Nate 2.— CARBON. -

Carbon, or Charcoal, forms a considerable part of the
solid matter of all organised bodies; but it is most abun-
dant in the vegetable creation ; and chiefly obtained from
wood, when the oil and water (which are the other consti-
tuents of vegetable matter) are evaporated ; the black po-
rous brittle substance that then remains is called charcoal.

Charcoal, or artificial carbon, is properly called an Oxyd
of Carbon. All carbon is not black — many substances
consisting chiefly of carbon, are remarkably white ; cotton,
for instance, is almost wholly carbon. In the diamond
alone, carbon exists in its purest and most perfect state.
We are ignorant of the means which nature employs to
bring it to that state ; it may probably be the work of ages,
to purify, arrange, and unite the particles of carbon in the
form of a diamond.

Oxygen, when in a state of combination with other sub-
stances, loses, in almost every instance, its respirable pro-
perties, and when combined with carbon, is not only unfit
for respiration, but extremely deleterious if taken into the
lungs. This accounts for the unwholesome fumes of
burning charcoal. By the combustion of charcoal, it
gradually combines witli the oxygen of the atmosphere,
for which it has a great attraction, and flies off in a gase-
ous state, called carbonic acid gas, or fixed air.

This carbonic acid gas produces many unhappy acci-
dents at the opening of cellars, in places where wine, cider,
or beer are suffered to ferment. The famous Lake Aver-
nus, in Italy, by modern Italians called Lago di Triper-
gola, and which Virgil makes the entrance of hell, exhal-
ed so large a quantity of carbonic acid gas, that birds could
not fly over it with impunity.

Carbon, in a state of gas, is also found at the celebrated
Grotto del Cani, near Naples. History informs us that
criminals who were made to descend into the grotto were
immediately stifled.

Water can absorb this gas, as is seen in many of our
mineral waters, to which it gives a slight acid taste ; and,
although prejudicial to respiration, is is sometimes found
to be beneficial to the stomach.

Note 3.— UMBELLIFEROUS PLANTS.

Umbelliferous plants (from the Latin umbdla, and fero
to bear,) are those plants producing the inflorescence call-
ed an umbel. A particular mode of flowering, which consists
of a number of flower-stalks or rays, nearly equal in length,
spreading from a common centre, their summits forming
a level, convex, or even globose surface, as in hemlock ;
more rarely a concave one, as the carrot. It is simple or
compound ; in the latter, each peduncle bears another lit-
tle umbel, umbellet, or umbellicle.

Umbel, is sometimes called a rundle, from its roundness.

A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF LINN^US.

It may not be deemed out of place to give a brief sketch
of the life of the illustrious author of systematized botany,
which has been so nearly perfected by his indefatigable
labours.

CHARLES LINN^US (afterwards Von Linns') was born at
Rashult, in Sweden, in 1707. He father, Nicholas Lin-
neeus, was minister of the parish of Stenbrohult, to which
the hamlet of Rashult belongs. His was a great admirer
of the vegetable productions of Nature, and adorned the
environs of his rural mansion with the native plants of
the neighbouring fields. Young Linnceus caught his
parent's enthusiasm, and early imbibed the same taste,
with such warmth, that he was never able to bend his
mind, with any great success, to other pursuits. He re-
lates of himself, that, when yet scarcely four years old, he
heard his father descant, to a rural party, on the distinc-
tive qualities of some particular plants, culled from the
flowery bank on which they were seated, and that this
first botanical lecture was ever after remembered as an
epoch in his scientific life.

His father designed him for the church ; but he had no
particular relish for the profession, or its preparatory stu-
dies, being a very inapt scholar in the study of languages,

either ancient or modern. In his diary, written in later
years, he confesses a peculiar inaptitude, and rather a
blameable indifference, for the learning of languages : de-
claring, that in all his travels, he learned " neither Eng-
lish, French, German, Laplandish, nor even Dutch, though
he stayed in Holland three whole years. Nevertheless,
he found his way every where well and happily."

At the age of nineteen, his tutors, like the sapient in-
structors of Newton at Cambridge, gave him up as a
hopeless dunce ; advising that he should be apprenticed to
some mechanical trade. Fortunately for him, and for the
world, one of the lecturers on Natural Philosophy, Dr.
Rothmann, having observed his passion for the study of
Nature, and his practical observation, recommended to
his disappointed parent to turn his attention to the study
of medicine ; which advice was adopted, and he, after-
wards, became a practising physician of some eminence.
The amiable professor who had thus interested himself for
him, gave him private instruction in physiology. He first
suggested to Linnaeus the true principles upon which
botany ought to be studied — founded on the parts of fruc-
tification, and put the system of Tournefort into his hands,
whose orders are distinguished by the fruit. Its very im-

perfections proved useful, in prompting him to attempt
something more complete thereafter.

From that time, Linnaeus devoted all his leisure to his
favourite study. In early life he had to struggle with
many difficulties ; being so poor, as frequently to depend
upon chance for a meal ; and without the means of paying
for a patch upon his shoes, which he sometimes endea-
voured to repair himself, by the aid of folded paper. But
merit and industry will always find their reward, arid rise
proudly superior to all impediments. The lustre of his
abilities soon drew the attention of some of the most
learned men in Europe, who encouraged and patronized
him. He was, after a time, elected a member of various
scientific academies throughout Europe ; and, in his own
country, made Secretary of the Upsal Academy, the only
one then in Sweden ; besides many other distinguished
marks of the high estimation in which he was held in his
native country, and in the literary world.

His studies were not wholly confined to botany, but ex-
tended to other branches of natural history, as may be
seen by the publication of his many scientific and varied
works.

In the spring of 1732, he received from the Academy
of Sciences at Upsal, an appointment to travel through
Lapland, under the royal authority, and at the expense of
the Academy. He was but slenderly provided with bag-
gage, travelled generally on horseback, but visited the
Lapland Alps on foot — descending to the coast of Norway,
he returned by Tornea, &c. to Upsal, by the 10th of Octo-
ber, having performed a journey of near 4000 English
miles.

When in Lapland, he gathered at Lyksele, May 29th,
1732, an elegant and singular little plant, formerly known
to botanists as the Campanula Serpyllifolia. Linnaeus, by
his study of vegetables on the only certain principles, the
structure of their parts of fructification, soon found this
to constitute a new genus ; but he reserved the idea in his
own breast, till such time as his discoveries and publica-
tions had entitled him to botanical commemoration : and
his friend Gronovius, in due time, undertook to make this
genus known to the world under the name of Linn&a —
it having been chosen by himself for this purpose.

In the course of his tour having learned the art of as-
saying metals, he in the following year gave a private
course of lectures on this subject, which had never before
been taught at Upsal.

The arts of his rival Rosen having disappointed him of
his anticipated medical advancement in the college at
Lund, and, by his intrigues, put a stop to all private medi-
cal lectures in the university of Upsal, thus depriving
Linnaeus of his only present means of subsistence, our in-
defatigable naturalist directed his energies into another
channel ; in furtherance of his study of mineralogy, he
visited the mines of Sweden, and, at the close of the year

1733, he gave a course of lectures at Fahlun, on the art of
assaying. Here he first became acquainted with Browal-
lius (chaplain to the governor of the province of Dalecarlia,
afterwards bishop of Abo) who advised him to take his
doctor's degrees, in order to pursue the practice of medi-
cine, in which he had already acquired some celebrity
while at Fahlun.

In pursuance of this advice, Linnaeus, having amassed
the sum of fifteen pounds sterling, now commenced his
travels, with a view of obtaining his degree at the cheap-
est university he could find, and, at the same time, seeing
something more of the literary world. He spent five years
in visiting the principal countries of Europe ; his merit
raised him up patrons and friends wherever he was
known ; through many difficulties, it is true, did he have
to work his way, but still he went onward, supported by
the native energy of his character, gaining information at
every step, and extending his own fame. He tells us
himself, he would perhaps never have returned to his own
country, " had he not been in love ;" but hearing that he
had a powerful rival in the affections of her to whom he
had plighted his faith, he suddenly returned to Sweden,
and, after a time, having acquired such a degree of pros-
perity as to induce the father of his betrothed to consent
to their union, he was married June 26, 1739.

How distant oft the thing we dote on most,
From that for which we Aole, felicity!

This consummation of his ardent aspirations for the last
five years of his life, brought with it no access either of
happiness or prosperity. This idol of his heart, is repre-
sented as altogether unworthy; and of a kindred spirit
with the unnatural mother of the. unfortunate poet Savage,
displaying the same hatred of her only son, and persecut-
ing him by every means within her power, during the life
of her husband, who was made miserable by her miscon-
duct and petty tyranny, and, after his death, still pouring
out the dregs of her wrath upon the admirable and sen-
sitive being who naturally looked to her for support and
comfort.

But let us turn from so disgusting and painful a theme,
to bestow a double portion of admiration upon that being,
who, amidst all these chilling blights to his happiness, still
laboured with untiring zeal in the cause of literature.

About the year 1751, the queen of Sweden, Louisa Ulri-
ca, sister to the great Frederic of Prussia, having a taste
for natural history, which her royal consort, king Adol-
phus Frederick, also patronized, showed much favour to
Linnteus, and employed him in arranging her collection of
insects and shells, at her country-palace of Drotningholm,
or Ulricksdahl, and he was frequently honoured with the
company and conversation of their majesties, during his
attendance there. The queen also interested herself in the
education of her son, and was altogether gracious and

obliging in all that concerned him, promoting his wishes
and his interest, whenever opportunity offered. She took
so much pleasure in the conversation of her distinguished
naturalist, that she allowed him his habitual indulgence
of smoking, even in her royal apartments, that he might
continue his labours with the more satisfaction to himself.
Nor were his services accepted without suitable returns
of royal munificence.

In 1753, he received, from the hand of his sovereign,
the order of the Polar Star ; an honour which had never
before been conferred for literary merit. A still more
remarkable, if not more grateful compliment, was paid
him, not long after, by the king of Spain; who invit-
ed him to settle at Madrid, with the offer of nobility, the
free exercise of his religion, and a splendid botanical ap-
pointment. This was handsomely declined by Linnaeus,
who declared, that if he had any merits, they were due to
his own country. This patriotic moderation received its
just reward in November, 1756, when he was raised
to the rank of Swedish nobility, and look the name of
Von Linne.

As the habits of Linnseus were temperate and regular,
he retained his health and vigour in tolerable perfection,
notwithstanding the immense labours of his mind, till be-
yond his sixtieth year; when his memory began, in some
degree, to fail him. In 1774, at the age of sixty-seven, an
attack of apoplexy greatly impaired his constitution. Two
years afterwards, he had a second attack, which rendered
him paralytic on the right side, and materially affected
his faculties. He died of a different complaint, in 1778,

aged seventy-one. His sovereign, Gustavus III. com-
manded a medal to be struck, expressive of the public loss
his country had sustained in him ; and honoured the
Academy of Science, at Stockholm, with his presence,
when the eulogy of this ornament to his country was pro-
nounced there by his intimate friend Black. A still higher
compliment was paid to his memory by the king, in a
speech from the throne, in which he did justice to the
splendid talents and acquirements of his illustrious subject,
and testified his royal sympathy with the sorrow of a
whole nation, in their irreparable loss. Nor was this sor-
row limited to the narrow bounds of his native soil : the
whole literary world, with whom he had become inti-
mately connected, and to whom he was endeared, felt the
shock of such a bereavement. Eulogies were pronounced
in the several scientific institutions of which he was a
member. In his own country, there was a general mourn-
ing proclaimed at Upsal — his remains were deposited in a
vault near the west end of the cathedral of the university,
where a monument of Swedish porphyry was erected by
his pupils. His obsequies were performed in the most
respectful manner, by the whole university, the pall being
supported by sixteen doctors of physic, all of whom had
been his pupils.

Five years after this, the remains of his only son (then
in his forty-second year, successor to his father in his
botanical professorship, which he supported with ability)
were laid by the side of the parent ; the family coat of
arms broken over them, and their mingled ashes strewed
with flowers.

RETURN, SICILIAN MUSE,

AND CALL THE VALES, AND BID THEM HITHER CAST
THEIR BELLS, AND FLOWERS OF A THOUSAND HUES.

Milton's Lycidas.

FROM FLOWERS WHICH WE TWINE FOR THE TEMPLE OF LOVE,
LOVE ITSELF MAY INSTRUCTION RECEIVE.

Ji H. Payne.

COME, MAKE UP A NOSEGAY

FOR HER WHOSE LOVE YOU PRIZE,

CHOOSE WHAT YOU WILL} HERE ARE ENOUGH,

WILD BLOOMS, AND GARDEN FLOWERS.

Anonymous.

FROM GIANT OAKS, THAT WAVE THEIR BRANCHES DARK,
TO THE DWARF MOSS, THAT CLINGS UPON THEIR BARK.

Darwin.

OH ! WHAT TENDER THOUGHTS BENEATH
THOSE SILENT FLOWERS ARE LYING,
HID WITHIN THE MYSTIC 'WREATH
MY LOVE HATH KISs'o IN TYING.

Moore.

ACACIA, Rose.

Robinia hispida.

Friendship.

If I do vow a friendship, I '11 perform it.

Shaks.

Angels from friendship gather half their joy.
Heaven gives us friends to bless the present scene.

Young.

Friendship ! thou soft propitious pow'r !
t Sweet regent of the social hour !
Sublime thy joys, nor understood,
But by the virtuous and the good ! . . . . Cotton.

Nor hope to find

A friend, but what has found a friend in thee.
All like the purchase, few the price will pay ;
And this makes friends such miracles below. Young.

ACACIA.

(Continued.)

The friends thou hast, and their adoption try'd,
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel. Shaks.

Old friends, like old swords, are trusted best. Webster.
Be good and friendly still, and oft return. . . Milton.

ACACIA, White.
R. Pseudo acacia.
Common Locust Tree.

Elegance.

Trifles themselves are elegant in him.

Pope.

To these resistless grace impart,

That look of sweetness fbrm'd to please,

That elegance devoid of art,

That dignity that 's lost in ease. . . . Cartwright.

So soft, so elegant, so fair,

Sure something more than human 's there.

Smollet.

ACACIA, Yellow.

Concealed love. Hard is the fate of him who loves,

Yet dares not tell his trembling pain. . . Thomson.

Much he laboured to conceal
That gentle passion of the breast,
Which all can feign, but few can feel.

Ingenuous fears suppress'd the flame,
Yet still he own'd its hidden power,

With transport dwelling on her name,

He sooth'd the solitary hour. . . . Cartwrighl.

How long must I conceal,
What yet my heart could wish were known ?
How long the truest passion feel,

And yet that passion fear to own ?

Carlwright.

Fire, that 's closest kept, burns most of all. . . Shaks.

Nor less was she in heart affected,
But that she masked it with modesty,
For fear she should of lightness be detected.

Spencer's Faery Queen.

She felt his flame ; but deep within her breast,

In bashful coyness, or in maiden pride,

The soft return conceal'd ; save when it stole

In sidelong glances from her down-cast eye,

Or from her swelling soul in stifled sighs. Thomson.

She long'd her hidden passion to reveal,
And tell her pains, but had not words to tell :
She can't begin, but waits for the rebound,
To catch his voice, and to return the sound.

Addisorfs Ovid.

ADONIS, Flos.
Adonis autumn alls.

Pheasant's eye ; or,
Red morocco.

Sorrowful remem- Oh ! never yet hath love successfully with

brances. memory strove. L. E. L.

Of all afflictions taught a lover yet,

'Tis sure the hardest science to forget ! . . . Pope.

Dost thou deem

It such an easy task from the fond breast
To root affection out ? Southey.

Unequal task ! a passion to resign,

For hearts so touch'd, so pierc'd, so lost as mine. Pope.

Oh ! to forget her ! — but how vain each art,

Whilst every virtue lives imprinted on my heart. Shaw.

Too faithful memory — cease — oh cease —

How shall I e'er regain my peace ! .... Shaw.

There 's not a garden walk I tread,

There 's not a flower I see,
But brings to mind some hope that 's fled,

Some joy I 've lost with thee Song.

ALMOND. Dwarf.
Amygdalus pumila.

Hope ! thou sad lover's only friend ! ... Cowley.

Transmit one pitying ray — to lighten and to cheer !

Young.

Return, fair Hope, thy seat resume,

Dispel this melancholy gloom,

And to my soul thy gladsome light impart.

jEschylus' Agamemnon.

Come, gentle Hope ! with one gay smile remove

The lasting sadness of an aching heart :

Thy voice, benign enchantress ! let me hear. Williams.

Answer.

The hope in dreams of a happier hour,

That alights on misery's brow,
Springs out of the silvery almond flower,

That blooms on a leafless bough Moore.

ALTH^A. Frutex.

Hibiscus Syriacus.
Syrian Mallow.

Consumed by love.

My heart 's on flame, and does like fire
To her aspire. ......

Cowley.

His love was passion's essence — as a tree
On fire by lightning : with ethereal flame
Kindled he was Byron.

ALTHAEA.

(Continued.)

Love was to his impassion'd soul,

Not, as with others, a mere part
Of his existence, but the whole,

The very life-breath of his heart Moore.

What must love be in a heart
All passion's fiery depths concealing,

Which has in its minutest part
More than another's whole of feeling ? . . L. E. L.

Answer.
Violent fires soon burn out themselves.

. . Shaks.

The more thou dam'st it up, the more it burns ;
The current, that with gentle murmur glides,
Thou know'st, being stopp'd, impatiently doth rage ;
But when his fair course is not hindered,
He makes sweet music with th' enamell'd stones.

Shaks.

Those edges soonest turn that are most keen,

A sober moderation stands sure,

No violent extremes endure Alleyn.

ALOE.
Aloe.

Religious superstition.

In climes beneath the solar ray,

Where beams intolerable day,

And arid plains in silence spread,

The pale-green Aloe lifts its head,

Delighting most its shade to fling

Where streams run not, nor fountains spring.

Its mystic branch, at Moslem's door,

Betokens travel long and sore

In Mecca's weary pilgrimage ;
Or hangs a visionary charm
To shield him from the secret harm,

The spectre's form, the demon's rage.

In frames adust, in fervid minds,
Its root thus superstition finds,
Where'er that noxious growth is found,
There spreads a moral desert round,
Where charity's sweet fount is dried,
And only bitter waters glide.
Oh ! never may its gloomy shade
Darken my gate, my breast invade,

Proclaiming that the thorny path
Of useless rigours I have trod,
With offered pangs to please a God

Not of compassion, but of wrath.

ALOE.

(Continued.)

Against the demon passion's strife,
The phantom fears which shadow life,
Virtue a better spell supply!
And trust in that Benignant Eye
Which wills not, in all earth's wide sphere,
One idle pang, one needless tear. . . .

C***e.

AMARANTH. Immortality.

Amaranthus.

His love was an eternal plant, whereof
The root was fix'd in virtue's ground.

They sin who tell us love can die,
With life all other passions fly,

All others are but vanity.
In heaven ambition cannot dwell,
Nor avarice in the vaults of hell ;
Earthly these passions of the earth,
They perish where they have their birth

But love is indestructible. .

Shaks.

Anon.

The lily's hue, the rose's dye,
The kindling lustre of an eye ;
Who but owns their magic sway !
Who but knows they all decay !

The tender thrill, the pitying tear,
The generous purpose, nobly dear,
The gentle look, that rage disarms —
These are all immortal charms.

Burns.

AMARANTH. Globe. Unchangeable.
Gomphrena globosa.

Here still is the smile that no cloud can o'ercast,
And the heart, and the hand, all thy own to the last.

Moore.

For ever thine, whate'er this world betide,

In youth, in age, thine own, forever thine. A. A. Watts.

The very thoughts of change I hate.

As much as of despair ;
Nor ever covet to be great,

Unless it be for her

Parnell.

No change in love the seasons bring,
Love only knows perpetual spring,

Time destroying far and wide,

Love from the soul can ne'er divide.
Love will the universe control
When dying seasons cease to roll. .

Unalterably firm his love entire.

Booth.

Milton.

AMARYLLIS. Splendid beauty. Beauty, too rich for use, for earth too dear. . Shake.

A. Formosissima. A shape of beauty that bewitched mine eye. . . ^.

Her glossy hair was clustered o'er her brow,
Bright with intelligence, and fair and smooth :

Her eye-brow's shape was like the aerial bow.
Her cheek all purple with the beam of youth,

Mounting at times, to a transparent glow,
As if her veins ran lightning Byron.

Fair lovely lady, bright and crystalline !
As glorious as the morning wash'd with dew,
Within whose eyes she takes her dawning beams —
And golden summer sleeps upon thy cheeks ;
Wrap up thy radiations in some cloud,
Lest that thy beauty make this stately town
Unhabitable as the burning zone,
With sweet reflections of thy lovely face. . . S/taks.

AMBROSIA.
Ambrosia.

Love returned. She was beloved — she loved Shaks.

Soft eyes look'd love, to eyes which spoke again. Byron.

Love has a fleeter messenger than speech,

To tell love's meaning. His express post

Upon the orbs of vision, ere the tongue

Can shape them into words G. Colman,jr.

Theirs was love in which the mind delights

To lose itself. Byron.

The all-absorbing flame
Which, kindled by another, grows the same,
Wrapt in one blaze Byron.

Answer.
What sweet delirium o'er his bosom stole !

Beatlie.

I am lost in ecstasy ! — Dost thou love,

Thou charming maid ?
This is life indeed ! Life worth preserving.
Such life as " I have" never felt till now.
My joy, my best belov'd, my only wish !
How shall I speak the transport of my soul ! Addison.

My soul, my life,
Seem'd all too little for your happiness. . . L. E. L.

Oh! 'tis a heaven worth dying for! .... Watts.

AMER. STAR WORT.

Michaelmas Daisy.
Aster tradescanti.

Cheerfulness in
old age.

Though time thy bloom is stealing,
There 's still beyond his art,

The wild-flower wreath of feeling,
The sunbeam of the heart. . .

Halleck.

Virtue gives pleasure an eternal reign. . . . Young.

Virtue can brook the thoughts of age,

That lasts the same through every stage. . . Gay.

What nothing earthly gives, or can destroy,

The soul's calm sunshine, and the heart-felt joy,

Is virtue's prize Pope.

ANEMONE.

Zephyr's Flower.
Anemone vernalis.

Expectation. For him she breathes the silent sigh forlorn,

Each setting day — for him, each rising morn. Darwin.

He used to come, in happier hours,
Upon my gift of token flowers. . .

. . C. G.

He comes not — sends not — faithless one !

It is no dream — and I am desolate ! . . . . Byron.

That breathless, agoniz'd suspense

From whose hot throbs, whose deadly aching

The heart hath no relief but breaking ! . .

Moore.

ARBOR VITJE.

Thuja.

for me. With heart never changing, and brow never cold. Moore.
I live in pleasure, when 1 live to thee D.

Unless I look on Sylvia in the day,
There is no day for me to look upon.
She is my essence : and I leave to be,
If I be not by her fair influence
Foster'd, illumin'd, cherish'd, kept alive.

Gladly I
With thee would live, with thee would die.

Shaks.

Horace. ,

Answer.

Elvira blush'd the warm reply,
(To love a language not unknown,)
The milder glories fill'd her eye,
And there a softer lustre shone.

Cartwright.

AURICULA, Scarlet. AtttYVtC. Avarice, whatever shape it bears,

Must still be coupled with its cares Gay.

Primula auricula.

Can gold calm passion, or make reason shine ?

Can we dig peace, or wisdom, from the mine ?

Wisdom to gold prefer ; for 'tis much less

To make our fortune, than our happiness. . . Young.

What ever fortune lavishly can pour,
The mind annihilates, and asks for more.
Wealth is a cheat ; believe not what it says :
Like every lord, it promises — and pays.

* * * *

The poor are only poor,
But what are they who droop amid their store 1 Young.

Gold hath no lustre of its own,

It shines by temperate use alone Horace.

Why lose we life in anxious cares,

To lay up hoards for future years ? . . . . . Gay.

BACHELOR'S BUTTON. / with the morning's When T said l would die a bachelor, I did not think

love have oft made I should I live till I were married Shake.

Lychnis dioica. sport.

Love's a mighty lord ;

And hath so humbled me, as I confess

There is no woe to his correction,

Nor, to his service, no such joy on earth !

Now, no discourse, except it be of love —
Now can I break my fast, dine, sup, and sleep,
Upon the very naked name of love ShaJcs.

Your beauty was the cause of that effect :

Your beauty which did haunt me in my sleep. same.

Your virtues, graced with external gifts,

Kindle love's settled passion in my heart. . . same.

Ever till now
When men were fond, I smil'd and wonder'd how. same.

Now 1 am
"As true a lover as ever sigh'd on midnight pillow." same.

Never man sigh'd truer breath same.

Answer.

Flora's choice buttons of a russet die,

Is hope — even in the depths of misery. . . . Brown.

BALM.

Melissa officinalis.

Sympathy. A world of earthly blessings to my soul

If sympathy of love unite our thoughts. . . . Shaks.

Love's soft sympathy imparts
That tender transport of delight
That beats in undivided hearts. . . . Cartwright.

What my tongue dares not, that my heart shall say.

Shaks.

BALSAM, Red.

Touch me not.
Impatiens.

Impatient resolves.

Let me this fondness from my bosom tear,
Let me forget that e'er I thought her fair :
Come, cool indifference, and heal my breast,
Wearied at length, I seek thy downy rest :
No turbulence of passion shall destroy
My future ease with flattering hopes of joy. Lyttleton.

No more my eyes shall view her fatal charms.

* * * *

Not all her arts my steady soul shall move,

And she shall find that reason conquers love. . same.

I '11 not be made a soft and dull ey'd fool,

To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield. Shaks.

Yield up, O love! thy crown, and hearted throne,
To tyrannous hate ! swell, bosom ! with thy fraught,
For 'tis of aspic's tongue si ....... same.

I am Misanthropes, and hate mankind. . . . same.

BALSAM. Yellow.
Noli me tangere.
Impatiens.

Impatience. Impatience waiteth on true sorrow. .... Shaks.

Who in patience parts with all delight. . . . Byron.
They can be meek, that have no other cause. Shaks.

Was she not all my fondest wish could frame ?

Did ever mind so much of heaven partake ? . Shaw.

Ah ! what avail my love and truth ?

She listens to no lowly swain ;
Her charms must bless some happier youth,

Some youth of Fortune's titled train.

Yet, will the youth, whoe'er he be,

In truth or tenderness excel ?
Or will he on thy charms like me,

With fondness never-dying dwell ?

•*-

BALSAM.

(Continued.)

What though his boastful heart be vain
Of all that birth or fortune gave,

Yet is not mine, though rude and plain,
At least as noble and as brave ?

Cartwright.

BASIL. Sweet. Good wishes. Joy and fresh days of love accompany your hearts. S/iaks.

Ocimum. I 'd have each hour, each minute of thy life

A golden holyday ; and should a cloud
O'ercast thee, be it light as gossamer,
That Helen might disperse it with a breath,
And talk thee into sunshine Geo. Coleman.

Peace be around thee, wherever thou roamest,
May life be to thee a summer's day ;

And all that thou wishest, and all that thou lovest,
Come smiling around thy sunny way —

As half in shade, and half in sun,
This world along its path advances,

May that side the sun 's upon,
Be all that e'er shall meet thy glances.

May Time, that sheds its blight on all,
And daily dooms some joy to death,

O'er thee let years so gently fall,
They shall not crush one flower beneath. ,

O'er the sea,
Fain would I waft such blessings upon thee.

Moore.

Byron.

So fare thee well, — and may th' indulgent gods
* * * grant thee every wish
Thy soul can form ! Once more farewell !

Sophocles' Philocletes.

BAY LEAF.

Laurus.

I change but in dying.

fao — let the Eagle change his plume,
The leaf its hue, the flower its bloom;
But ties around this heart were spun,
That could not, would not be undone. . . Campbell.

Changeless as the greenest leaves

Of the wreath the cypress weaves. . . . L. E. L.

Change as ye list, ye winds, my heart shall be

The faithful compass that still points to thee. . Gay.

How dear the dream in darkest hour of ill,

Should all be changed, to find thee faithful still !

Be but thy soul like Selim's firmly shown;

To thee be Selim's tender as thy own.

To soothe each sorrow, share in each delight,

Blend every thought, do all — but disunite. . Byron.

BAY WREATH. The reward of merit. O, your desert speaks loud ; and I should wrong it,

To lock it in the wards of covert bosom,
Laurus nobilis. When it deserves with characters of brass

A forted residence, 'gainst the tooth of time,

And razures of oblivion ......... Shaks.

The fame that a man wins himself, is best ;
That, he may call his own ; * *

*****

So man's true fame must strike from his own deeds.

Middleton.

How vain are all hereditary honours,

Those poor possessions from another's deeds,

Unless our own just virtues form our title,

And give a sanction to our fond assumption. Shirley.

'Tis much he dares ;

And to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety. . ......... Slw.ks.

A spirit unequalled, and high,

That claims, and seeks ascendancy ..... Byron.

A sage in head, a demi-god in war. . . . Teackle.

He sits 'mongst men, like a descended god :

He hath a kind of honour sets him off,

More than a mortal seeming ....... Shaks.

I 've scanned the actions of his daily life,

And nothing meets mine eye but deeds of honour.

Hannah More.

Good actions crown themselves with lasting BAYS,
Who deserves well, needs not another's praise. Heath.

BELVIDERE. I declare against you. Miserable most, to love unlov'd Shaks.

Scoparia dulcis. Pray you, no more of this ;

I would love you, if I could same.

Wild Liquorice.

Reason and love keep little company together now a days.
A veronica. same.

Oh, 'tis the curse of love, and still appprov'd,

When women cannot love, where they 're belov'd. same.

Of all pains, the greatest pain

It is to love, but love in vain Cowley.

BIRD'S-FOOT TREFOIL.
Lotus.

Revenge. I have done penance for contemning love ;

Whose high imperious thoughts have punished me
With bitter fasts, with penitential groans,
With nightly tears, and daily heart-sore sighs ;
For in revenge of my contempt of love,
Love hath chas'd sleep from my enthralled eyes,
And made them watchers of mine own heart's sorrow.

Shaks.

Alas ! that love, so gentle in his view,

Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof! . same.

Box.

Buxus.

Constancy. ^u* ^ am constant as the northern star,

Of whose true fix'd and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament ..... Shaks.

The proof of all the past,
Assures the future that my love will last. . . Moore.

Here is my hand for my true constancy ;

And when that hour o'er-slips me in the day,

Wherein I sigh not, Julia, for thy sake,

The next ensuing hour some foul mischance

Torment me for my love's forgetfulness! . . Shaks.

The strong base and building of my love

Is as the very centre of the earth,

Drawing all things to it ....... <f. same.

His thoughts are high, his love is wise —

And though he does not always smile,

He loves unto the end ....... Montgomery.

Seasons may roll,
But my true soul
Burns the same, where'er it goes.

Moore.

BROOM.
Genista.

Humility. Humility, that low sweet root,

From which all heavenly virtues shoot.

Moore.

Humility is eldest-born of virtue,

And claims the birth-right at the throne of Heaven.

Murphy.

It is the witness still of excellence,

To put a strange face on his own perfection.

Shaks.

Merit was ever modest known Gay.

BROOM. I. you*1 slass.

Will modestly discover to yourself,
(Continued.) That of yourself, which yet you know not of. Shaks.

I know the gentleman
To be of worth, and worthy estimation,
And not without desert so well reputed. . . same.

The rather will I spare my praises towards him,
Knowing him, is enough. ........ same,

The force of his own merit makes his way. . . same.

BUTTER CUP; Riches. Wooing thee, I found thee of more value

Than stamps in gold, or sums in sealed bags ;
or, King Cup. And 'tis the very riches of thyself,

That now I aim at Shaks.

Ranunculus acris.

She is indeed a gem
Fit to adorn the brightest crown : to see

°

Is to admire her Dr. Thomas Franklin's

-c< i r-ar • i
Larl of Warwick.

Had I a crown, all I should prize in it

Would be the power to lay it at your feet. . Dryden.

Were I in the wildest waste sae black and bare,
The desert were a paradise, if thou wert there.
Were I monarch o' the globe, with thee to reign,
The brightest jewel in my crown, wad be my queen.

Burns.

Wert thou as far

As that vast shore washed by the distant sea,
I would adventure for such merchandise. . . Shaks.

Were I crown'd the most imperial monarch,
Thereof most worthy: were I the fairest youth
That ever made eye swerve ; had force and knowledge,
More than ever man's — I would not prize them
Without her love same.

CALLA, JEthiopica. Feminine Modesty. In flowers and blossoms, love is wont to trace

Emblems of woman's virtues and her grace ;

Arum ,/Ethiopicum. Both pure, both sweet, both form'd with curious skill,

The quaint analogy surprises still.
Hence rose a mystic tongue, which I know not,
Or, with love's other language have forgot :
At " thirty," one may gaze on rose and lily,
Nor grow poetic, amorous, nor — silly.

-«*•

CALLA, ^Ethiopica.

(Continued.)

Yet, fair exotic ! by this single rule,

That thy name speaks thee of " the Beautiful,"

(A race by ancient gods and modern men

Alike ador'd,) thou should'st engage my pen :

The more, that thy chaste hue of modest white

Evokes the thought of one as pure, as bright ;

On whose fair brow most legibly is writ,

What more enchants, than beauty, grace, or wit :

Of thai, with thy fresh circling leaf of green,

(.An artless robe, adapted to thy mien,)

Henceforth in Flora's reign the emblem be,

And bear the name of Female Modesty* . . C***e.

CALYCANTHUS. Benevolence.

,H0«<jdJ lo w.-
C. floridus.

s ito
.oiaitl liaw

i'j i oJ sod'

Nature all, is blooming and benevolent like thee.

Thomson.

Like a sweet flower that on the passing breeze

Sheds its rich fragrance — like a pure star shining

With tranquil glory in a summer sky ;

So pure, so gentle, so benevolent,

That men were doubtful if of earth she was,

Or spirit, haply straying from its home. . . S. P. C.

His heart no selfish cares confin'd,

He felt for all that feel distress ;
And still benevolent and kind,

He bless'd them, or he wish'd to bless. Cartwright.

CAMELLA, Japonica.

Japan Rose.
C. J.

Pity-

Lucia, though sworn never to think of love,
Compassionates your pains, and pities you.

Addison.

Heaven has not cursed me with a heart of steel —
But given the sense to pity and to feel.

Homer's Odyssey.

Answer.

What is compassion, when 'tis void of love ?

She pities me !

To one that asks the warm return of love,
Compassion 's cruelty, — 'tis scorn, 'tis death. Addison.

If I could temporize with my affection,

Or brew it to a weak or colder palate,

The like allayment could I give my grief.

My love admits no qualifying dross ;

No more my grief, in such a precious loss. . . Sfiaks.

* Note. To which the Romans erected two temples.

HI*

CANTERBURY BELL.
Campanula medium.

Gratitude. And you, my dearest friend ! How shall I thank you ?

What shall I do to show my grateful heart ?

Sophocles' Philoctetes.

I cannot tell thee what I feel, for words
Have not the power to shadow forth the soul's
Deep and intense affections ; but my heart,
My life, already thine, again I give thee —

Poor evidence of my sumless gratitude. . S. P. C.

I have a grateful soul, would give you thanks,

And knows not how to do it, but with tears. . Shaks.

Take his thanks, that yet hath nothing else —

If fortune serve me, I '11 requite this kindness. same.

The debt immense of endless gratitude !

Milton.

CAPE JASMINE.

Gardenia florida.

Transport. Ecstasy. She bids me hope ! and in that charming word,

Has peace and transport to my soul restored. Lyttleto7i.

Tune your harps,

Ye angels, to that sound ; and thou, my heart,
Make room to entertain thy flowing joy.
Hence all my griefs, and every anxious care ;
One word and one kind glance can cure despair. Dryden.

What shall I answer thee ? My ravish'd heart
O'erflows with secret joy.

I 'm blind with too much light :
O'ercome with wonder, and oppress'd with joy.
This vast profusion of extreme delight,
Rising at once, and bursting from despair,
Defies the aid of words, and mocks description. Lillo.

My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up. . Shaks.

For joy like this, death were a cheap exchange !

jEschylus'1 Agamemnon.

CARDINAL'S FLOWER.
Lobelia cardinalis.

Distinction. Dost grasp at greatness ? first know what it is :

Think'st thou that greatness in distinction lies ?
Not in the feather, wave it e'er so high,
Is glory lodg'd : 'tis lodg'd in the reverse ;

A deathless soul Young.

'Tis the mind that makes the body rich :

And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,

So honour peereth in the meanest habit. . . . Shaks.

CARDINAL'S FLOWER.

(Continued. )

High stations tumult, but not bliss create,

None think the great unhappy, but the great. Young.

Keen are the pains advancement often brings —
To be secure, be humble — to be happy, be content.

Pride, like an eagle, builds among the stars ;

But pleasure, lark-like, rests upon the ground. same.

And often to our comfort shall we find]

The sharded beetle in a safer hold,

Than is the full-wing'd eagle Shaks.

The chase

Of glory is delightful, but when won,
It brings disquiet Euripides' Iphigenia.

Fondness for fame is avarice of air Young.

CATCH FLY, Red. Youthful love.
Silene.

It is the show and seal of nature's truth,

When love's strong passion is imprest in youth. Shaks.

What can match the spell divine,

The first impassion'd dream of youth ! . Anonymous.

Loving with all that wild devotion,
That deep, and passionate emotion —
Loving with all the snow-white truth,
That is found but in early youth ;
Freshness of feeling, as of flower,
That lives not more than spring's first hour. L. E. L.

But sweeter still than this, than these, than all,

Is first and passionate love — it stands alone,

Like Adam's recollection of his fall Byron.

CATCH FLY, White.

Silene.

[fall into the trap Yet who could have suspected an ambush,

laid for me. where I was taken ? Shaks.

All unavoided is the doom of destiny. . . . same.
What Fates impose, that men must needs abide, same.

Let none think to fly the danger,
For soon or late, love is his own avenger. . . Byron.

What e'er betides, by destiny 'tis done,

And better bear like men, than vainly seek to shun.

Dryden.

CATCH FLY, White.

(Continued.)

Alas, what stay is there in human state,

Or who can shun inevitable fate ? . . . . Dryden.

CEDAR.
Juniperus.

/ live for thee. To thee, my love, my heart, my life are due. Langhorne.

Thou art my light of life! without thee, bliss,

Even the bliss of angels, were but pain ;

But with thee, earth hath not a wilderness

So dark, but 'twould be blessed paradise. . S. P. C.

All that of myself is mine,
Lovely Amoret, is thine.

Be mine, dear maid ! this faithful heart

Can never prove untrue ;
'Twere easier far with life to part,

Than cease to live for you. . . .

Waller.

Terry.

My soul, gone forth from this lone breast,

Lives only, love, in thine ;
There is its holy home of rest,

Its dear, its chosen shrine

CHINA ASTER, Double.
Aster chinensis.

I partake your Mutual love the crown of all our bliss!

sentiments.

Each fear that chill'd their loves was past.

'Tis not in fate to harm me,
While fate leaves thy love to me ;

'Tis not in joy to charm me,
Unless that joy be shared with thee. . .

. Milton.
. Moore.

Be mine the more refined delights

Of love, that banishes control,
When the fond heart with heart unites,

And soul 's in unison with soul. . . . Cartwright.

Where heart meets heart, reciprocally soft,
Each other's pillow to repose divine. . . . Young.

CHINA ASTER, Single. 1 will think of it. Be not ^hearten'd, then nor cloud those looks

° * rFKof Tirr»rit f/i ho innro nhoorfnl nr»H cpr*>np /Ml,

Aster chinensis.

That wont to be more cheerful and serene.

Milton.

We would not sink thy soul

With fear in the excess, nor raise it high

With confidence. . . . JEschylus. The Persians.

CHINA ASTER, Single.

(Continued.)

Oft expectation fails, and most oft there
Where most it promises : and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest, and despair most sits.

Answer.

Shales.

Those gracious words revive my drooping thoughts,
And give my tongue-tied sorrows leave to speak. Shake.

I spy some pity in thy looks same.

Do not hold forth a grace, then snatch it from me.

JEschylus* Prometheus Chained.

CHRYSANTHEMUM,

Rose colour.

Chrysanthemum Indicum.

My heart will burst, an if I speak,

And I will speak, that so my heart may burst. Sftaks.

Yet,

Why should I blush to own I love ? —
'Tis love that rules the realms above.
Why should I blush to say to all,
That virtue holds my heart in thrall ? H. K. White.

CHRYSANTHEMUM, White.
Chrysanthemum Indicum.

Oh, she had yet the task to learn,

How often woman's heart must tarn

To feed upon its own excess

Of deep, yet passionate, tenderness !

How much of grief the heart must prove,

That yields a sanctuary to love ! . . . . L. E. L

Truth. All my offering must be

Truth, and spotless constancy L. E. L.

^

Truth needs no flowers of speech. Pope.

\l

True as a needle to the pole,

Or as the dial to the sun ;

Constant as gliding waters roll,

Whose swelling tides obey the moon ;

From ev'ry other charmer free,

My life, and love, shall follow thee Booth.

Answer.

/~-

How sweet the words of truth,
Breath'd from the lips of love Beattie.

CHRYSANTHEMUM.

(Continued.)

Eloquence glows on your lips,

When you swear that you '11 love me for ever. Moore.

Thy words had such a melting flow,

And spoke of truth so sweetly well,

They dropp'd, like heaven's serenest snow,

And all was brightness where they fell ! . . same.

Her heart all love, her soul all truth.

Dibdin.

CHRYSANTHEMUM, Slighted love.
Yellow.

Chrys. Indicum.

Still dash'd with blushes for her slighted love.

Addison's Ovid.

Was it for this I loved him so,

And lavished hopes that brightly shone ? . . . C. G.

Did I not love him with the purest flame ?

And give up friends and fortune for his sake ? Shaw.

Love's summer flower, how soon thou art decayed —
Opening amid a paradise of sweets,
Dying with withered leaves, and cankered stem !
Gone — and the trusting heart which thou hast made
So green, so lovely, for thy dwelling place,

Left to desolation ! L. E. L.

s

It may be sport to win a heart,

Then leave that heart to pine and die ! Westmacott.

CLOVER, Red.
Trifolium pratense.

Indtistry. If little labour, little are our gains :

Man's fortunes are according to his pains.

Herrick.

One alone

May do the task of many, when the mind
Is active in it Sophocles' CEdipus.

Industrious wisdom often does prevent

What lazy folly thinks inevitable. Abdicated Prince.

Absence of occupation is not rest,

A mind quite vacant, is a mind distress'd. . Cowper.

The keenest pangs the wretched find,

Are rapture to the dreary void —

The leafless desert of the mind —

The waste of feelings unemploy'd Byron.

Like a coy maiden, ease, when courted most,

Farthest retires — an idol, at whose shrine

Who oft'nest sacrifice are favour'd least. . Cowper.

COCK'S COMB.
Celosia cristata.
Amaranthus.

Foppery. Affectation. The gaudy cocfc's comb, idly vain,

Appears in all its showy bloom. . . Fables of Flora.

Coxcombs are of all ranks and kind,
They 're not to sex, or age, confined,

Of rich, or poor, or great, or small,

'Tis vanity besets them all Gay.

The leopard's beauty, without the fox's wit, is no better
than a fop in a gay coat L'Estrange.

Ah! friend ! to dazzle let the vain design,

To raise the thought and teach the heart be thine. Pope.

COLUMBINE, Purple.
Aquilegia.

Resolved to win. This hand, I cannot but in death resign ! . Dryden.

Think'st thou

That I could live, and let thee go,
Who art my life itself? — no — no.

Moore.

To prevail in the cause that is dearer than life,

Or, crush'd in its ruins, to die ! .... Campbell.

COLUMBINE, Red. Anxious and trembling. How throbbed my fluttering pulse with hopes and fears.

Rogers.
A. canadensis.

Thrown into tumult, raptur'd or alarm'd ! . . Young.

Hope and fear maintain eternal strife —

Where fleeting joy does lasting doubts inspire,

And most we question what we most desire. . Prior.

O ! soothe my soul to rest —
And calm the rising tumult in my breast.

Sophocles'1 (Edipus Tyrannus.

Answer.

The rose is fairest when 'tis budding new,

And hope is brightest when it dawns from fears. Scott.

CONVOLVULUS.
Convolvulus.

Uncertainty. Hope and fear alternate sway'd his breast,
Like light and shade upon a waving field,
Coursing each other, when the flying clouds
Now hide, and now reveal the sun Home.

CONVOLVULUS.

(Continued.)

For love pursues an ever devious race,

True to the winding lineaments of grace. . Campbell.

COREOPSIS, Arkansa.
Coreopsis tinctoria.

Love at first sight. No warning of the approaching flame,
Swiftly, like sudden death it came,
I lov'd the moment I beheld ! Granville.

A change so swift, what heart did ever feel ?

It rush'd upon me like a mighty stream,

And bore me in a moment far from shore.

I 've lov'd away myself: in one short hour,

Already am I gone an age of passion. . . . Dryden.

She seizes hearts, not waiting for consent,
Like sudden death, that snatches, unprepared ;
Like fire from heaven, scarce seen so soon as felt.

Lansdowri's Heroic Love.

Oh ! there are looks and tones that dart
An instant sunshine through the heart ;
As if the soul, that minute, caught
Some treasure it through life had sought !

Thou com'st in beauty on my gaze at last,
Image of many a dream in hours past !

Moore.

Halleck.

Answer.

IB it possible, that love should of a sudden take such
hold? Shaks.

The worst fault you have is to be in love —

'Tis a fault I would not change for your best virtue.

same.

COWSLIP, Common.
Primula veris.

Winning grace. A soft subduing grace around her breathed.

F.

A lovelier nymph the pencil never drew ;

For the fond graces form'd her easy mien,

And heaven's soft azure in her eye was seen. Hayley.

Fairer than the ghost of the hills, when it moves in a
sun-beam at noon, over the silence of Morven.

Ossian.

Fair as the forms, that, wove in fancy's loom,

Float in light vision round the poet's head. . Mason.

CROCUS.
Crocus.

Cheerfulness. Frame your mind to mirth and merriment,

Which bars a thousand harms, and lengthens life. Shaks.

Then her mirth — oh ! 't was sportive as ever took wing
From the heart, with a burst, like the wild bird in spring.

Moore.

While her laugh, full of life, without any control

But the sweet one of gracefulness, rung from her soul.

And where it most sparkled, no glance could discover,

In lip, cheek, or eyes, for she brighteri'd all over.

Like any fair lake that the breeze is upon,

When it breaks into dimples, and laughs in the sun.

same.

I cannot paint to thee the charm
Which thou hast wrought on me,

Thy laugh, so like the wild bird's song,

In the first bloom-touch'd tree L. E. L

CROWN IMPERIAL. Majesty. Power.
Fritillaria imperialism

In his face sat meekness, heighten'd with majestic grace.

Denham.

Who paused to look again,
Saw more than marks the crowd of vulgar men. Byron.

The power of thought — the magic of the mind. same.

See, what a grace was seated on this brow :

Hyperion's curls ; the front of Jove himself;

An eye, like Mars, to threaten and command ;

A station like the herald Mercury,

New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill ;

A combination and a form, indeed,

Where every god did seem to set his seal,

To give the world assurance of a man! . . . Shaks.

What peremptory eagle-sighted eye,

Dares look upon the heaven of her brow,

That is not blinded by her majesty ? . . . . same.

High on the circle of her brow erithron'd,
From each majestic motion darting awe,
Devoted awe ! till cherish'd by her looks
Benevolent, and meek confiding love,
To rapture soften'd all the soul. . .

Akenside.

His changing cheek, his sinking heart, confess

The might— the majesty of loveliness. . . . Byron.

CYPRESS.

Cupressus sempervirens.

Despnir. You are the cause of all my care —

I love, and I despair ! . . . .

Prior.

My eyes confess it.

My every action speaks my heart aloud.
But, oh ! the madness of my high attempt
Speaks louder yet ! and altogether cry,
I love, and I despair

Dryden.

I fly the fatal house — suppress my sighs,

Resolv'd to dry my unavailing tears :

But, ah ! in vain — no change of time or place

The memory can efface
Of all that sweetness, that enchanting air,
Now lost ; and naught remains but anguish and despair.

Shaw.

Now cold despair, succeeding in her stead,

To livid paleness turns the glowing red.

His blood, scarce liquid, creeps within his veins,

Like water which the freezing wind constrains. Dryden.

The lifted arm of mute despair arrest,

And snatch the dagger pointed at his breast. Darwin.

DAFFODIL.

Great Yellow Daffodil.
Narcissus major.

Chivalry.

Daffodils

That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty. . . .

Shaks.

Bright as the bow that spans the storm,
In Erin's yellow vesture clad,

A son of light, a lovely form,

He comes and makes her glad. . . ,

. Campbell.

'Twas Redmond — by the azure eye ;

'Twas Redmond — by the locks that fly

Disordered from his glowing cheek ;

Mien, face, and form, young Redmond speak.

A form more active, light, and strong,

Ne'er shot the ranks of war along ;

The modest, yet the manly mien,

Might grace the court of maiden queen. . .

. Scott.

I do not think a braver gentleman,

More active-valiant, or more valiant -young,

More daring, or more noble, is now alive,

To grace this latter age with noble deeds. . . Shaks.

DAFFODIL.

(Continued.)

Answer.

But now I am returned, and that war thoughts

Have left their places vacant, in their rooms

Come thronging soft and delicate desires,

All prompting me how fair young Hero is. . . Shales.

Most fair, —

Will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier terms
Such as will enter at a lady's ear,
And plead his love-suit to her gentle heart ? . same.

DAHLIA.
Dahlia.

For tver thine. ^or ever thine ! 'mid fashion's heartless throng,

In courtly bowers, at folly's gilded shrine.
Smiles on my cheek, light words upon my tongue,
My deep heart still is thine — for ever thine.

A. A. Watts.

Amidst the world, the only one
Whose light, among so many lights,
Was like that star, on starry nights
The seaman singles from the sky,
To steer his bark for ever by. . .

Moore.

For ever thine, whate'er this heart betide ;

For ever thine, where'er our lot be cast. A. A. Watts.

In pleasure's dream, or sorrow's hour,

In crowded hall or lonely bower,

The business of my soul shall be,

For ever to remember thee ! Moore.

DAISY, Red.

Bellis.

Beauty unknown to
the possessor.

The beauty that is borne here in her face,

The bearer knows not of. ...... " . . Shaks.

»Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white

Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on. same.

Her eyes, her lips, her cheeks, her shapes, her features,
Seem to be drawn by love's own hands, by love
Himself in love ........... Dryden.

Is she not more than painting can express,

Or youthful poets fancy when they love ? . . Rowe.

\.

As lamps burn silent, with unconscious light,

So modest ease in beauty shines most bright ;

Unairning charms with edge resistless fall,

And she who means no mischief, does it all. A. Hill.

DAISY, White.

Bellis.

Innocence.

Whose white investments figure innocence.

Shaks.

Flowers sweet and gay, and delicate like you,
Emblem of innocence, and beauty too. Mrs. Barbauld.

The bloom of opening flower's unsullied beauty,

Softness, and sweetest innocence she wears,

And looks like nature in the world's first spring. Rowe.

Then her face,

So lovely, yet so arch, so full of mirth,
The overflowings of an innocent heart.

Rogers.

Her manners, by the world refin'd,
Left all the taint of modish vice behind,
And made each charm of polish'd courts agree
With candid truth's simplicity,
And uncorrupted innocence Lyttelton.

Her heavenly form
Angelic, but more soft and feminine,
Her graceful innocence, her every air
Of gesture or least action, overaw'd Milton.

DANDELION.
Leontodon taraxacum.

Coquetry. This is the flower that smiles on every one. . Shaks.

In crowds around thee gaze the admiring swains.

Darwin.

The butterfly of various hue,
More than these flowers resemble you ;
Fair, flutt 'ring, fickle, busy thing,
To pleasure ever on the wing,
Gaily coquetting for an hour,
To die, and ne'er be thought of more.
Yet certain, as these flowers fade
Time every beauty will invade Gay.

All my fond love, thus do I blow to heaven ! . . Shakt.

Vain was the vow to forsake, or forget,

A look brought him back to the dear coquette. . . L.

DEW PLANT.

Mesembryanthemum.

A Serenade. Where should this music be ? i' the air, or the earth ?

Shaks.

'Twas musical, but sadly sweet,

Such as when winds and harp-strings meet. . Byron.

DEW PLANT.

(Continued.)

A soft and solemn-breathing sound
Rose like a stream of rich distill'd perfumes, .
And stole upon the air Milton.

How sweetly did they float upon the wings

Of silence, through the^mpty vaulted night,

At every fall smoothing the raven-down

Of darkness, till it smiled same.

I was all ear,

And took in strains that might create a soul
Under the ribs of death. .... . same.

Soft stillness, and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.

. . Shaks.

But the gentlest of all, are those sounds full of feeling,
That soft from the lute of some lover are stealing —
Some lover, who knows all the heart-touching power
Of a lute, and a sigh, in the magical hour. . . Moore.

" And yonder lattice, where thick vine-leaves
Are canopy, a maiden leans — she has caught
A shadow — and she sees a well known form
Amid those trees, and with her hair flung back,
She listens to his song — * The song she loved.' "

With rapt ear drink the enchanting serenade,

And, as it melts along the moonlight glade,

To each soft note return as soft a sigh,

And bless the youth that bids her slumbers fly. Rogers.

DOGWOOD BLOSSOM.
Cornus.

/ am perfectly in- If e'er I lov'd her, all that love is gone. .
different to you.

Never did captive with freer heart

Cast off his chains of bondage

Shaks.

Such love, by flattering charms betray'd,

Shall yet indignant soon rebel,
And, blushing for the choice he made,

Shall fly where gentler virtues dwell.

'Tis then the mind, from bondage free,

And all its former weakness o'er,
Asserts its native dignity,

And scorns what folly prized before. . Cartwright.

Answer.
She gladly shunn'd, who gladly fled from her. Shaks.

EGLANTINE. I wound to heal.

European Sweet Briar.
Rosa rubiginosa.

Now show the wound mine eyes have made in theo.

Shaks.

I will not cast away my physic,

But on those that are sick. same.

Answer.

\

If ever (as that ever may be near)

You meet in some fresh cheek the power of fancy,

Then shall you know the wounds invisible

That love's keen arrows make same.

Lady.

Wise men ne'er wail their present woes,

But presently prevent the way to wail. . . . Shaks.

I dare for once prescribe for your disease. Dryden.

I would cure you, if you would but call me Rosalind,
And come every day to my cote, and woo me. Shaks.

Rejoinder.

Skill infinite —
Sweet practitioner, thy physic I will try. . . same.

ELDER. Compassion.

Sambucus nigor.

His sighs and his tears had so wrought on her mind,
That in downright compassion, to love she inclined.

Miss M. Jones.

When she saw her reasons idly spent,

And could not move him from his fix'd intent. Dryden.

The cloud gave way,
The mist flew upward, and dissolv'd in day. same.

An artless passion, fraught with hopes and fears,
And nearest happy, when it most despairs. . Gibber.

Touch but the tender strings
Of soft compassion in the heart, and love
Will quickly vibrate to its kindred passion.

Dr. Thomas Franklin's Earl of Warwick.

EVERLASTING.
Gnaphalium.

Never ceasing So turns the impatient needle to the pole,

remembrance. Though mountains rise between, and oceans roll.

Darwin.

EVERLASTING.

(Continued.)

Thou wert a rainbow to my sight,
The storms oflife before thee fled,

The glory and the guiding light,
That onward cheered, and upward led ;

Thou wert my guiding light afar. .

Delta.

There 's not an hour

Of day, or dreaming night, but I am with thee :
There 's not a wind but whispers of thy name ;
And not a flower that sleeps beneath the moon,
But in its fragrance tells a tale
Of thee.

Proctor.

There 's not a look, a word of thine,

My soul hath ere forgot ;
Thou ne'er hast bid a ringlet shine,
Nor given thy locks one graceful twine,

Which I remember not ! . . . .

Moore.

All nature fades extinct ; and she alone

Heard, felt, and seen, possesses every thought,

Fills every sense, and pants in every vein. Thomson.

FEVER ROOT.

Eupatorium.

Delay.

Why, how now, Orlando ! where have you been all
this while ? You a lover ? An' you serve me such
another trick, never come in my sight more. . Shaks.

Nay, an' you be so tardy, come no more in my sight ;
I had as lief be woo'd of a snail same.

Break an hour's promise in love ? He that will divide
a minute into a thousand parts, and break but a part of
the thousandth part of a minute in the affairs of love, it
may be said of him, that Cupid hath clapp'd him o' the
shoulder, but I warrant him heart whole. . . same.

FIR.

Balm of GUead.
Pinus balsamea.

\

Time.

Ah ! how much must that poor heart endure,

Which hopes from thee, and thee alone a cure ! Bowles.

Years have not seen, time shall not see

The hour that tears my soul from thee. . . Byron.

And as age but makes the vine,

Whose young tendrils wander

Round the sapling stem, entwine

Fonder there and fonder —

So my breast for thee retains

The first love that bound it ;

Time can only twine the chains

Still more firmly round it Sweeny.

FIR.

(Continued.)

Hopes, which ought not, like things of time, to cloy,
And feelings time shall deepen — not destroy. Barton.

Fox GLOVE.

Digitalis.

A wish. ^ ' tna* ' were a glove upon that hand,

That I might touch that cheek ! . . .

Shaks.

Ah ! might I breathe my humble vow,

Might she too deign to lend an ear !
Elvira's self should then allow

That Armine was at least sincere.

Wild wish ! to dream the matchless maid

Would listen to a youth like me ;
Or that my vows could e'er persuade,

Sincere and constant though they be ! Cartwright.

For myself alone,
I would not be ambitious in my wish ;

Yet for you,

I would be trebled twenty times myself;
A thousand times more fair, ten thousand times more rich,
That only to stand high in your account,
I might in virtues, beauties, livings, friends,

Exceed account ! Shaks.

FUCHSIA. Th? ambition in my love

thus plagues itself.

Love lies-a-bleeding.

It were all one,

That I should love a bright particular star,
And think to wed it, he is so above me :
In his bright radiance and collateral light
Must I be comforted, not in his sphere.

* * * *

'Twas pretty, though a plague
To see him every hour ; to sit and draw
His arched brows, his hawking eye, his curls,
In our heart's table ; heart, too capable
Of every line and trick of his sweet favour :
But now he 's gone, and my idolatrous fancy
Must sanctify his relics Shaks.

I know I love in vain, strive against hope ;

Yet, in this captious and intenible sieve,

I still pour out the waters of my love,

And lack not to lose still ; thus, Indian like,

Religious in mine error, I adore

The sun, that looks upon his worshipper,

But knows of him no more same.

FUCHSIA.

CContinued.)

This is the truth: his spirit wholly turn'd
To stern ambition's dream, to that fierce strife
Which leads to life's high places, and reck'd not
What lovely flowers might perish in his path. L. E. L.

GERANIUM, Apple.

Pelargonium pomifragrans.

Present preference. Emma with smiles receives his present flame ;
But, smiling, will she ever be the same ?

Beautiful looks are rul'd by fickle minds ;

And summer seas are turn'd by sudden winds.
Another love may gain her easy youth :
Time changes thoughts, and flattery conquers truth.

Prior.

I know not what my future thoughts will be :
Poor woman's thoughts are all extempore.

Wise men, indeed,

Beforehand a long chain of thoughts produce ;
But ours are only for our present use. . . Dryden.

Never should man too confident assert,
Much less by oath should bind himself to aught;
For soon our judgments change, and one opinion
Destroys another Sophocles'1 Antigone.

GERANIUM.
Crane's Bill.
Geranium maculatum.

Envy.

With fame, in just proportion, envy grows ;

The man that makes a character, makes foes. Young.

Great and good persons well may be

From guilt, but not from envy free. . . . Barron.

Few have the fortitude of soul to honour
A friend's success, without a touch of envy.

JEschylus'1 Agamemnon.

Base envy withers at another's joy,

And hates that excellence it cannot reach. Thomson.

Envy doth invade

Works breathing to eternity ; and cast
Upon the fairest piece the greatest shade. . . Aleyn.

Envy will merit as its shade pursue ;

But like a shadow, proves the substance true. Pope.

The great should have the fame of happiness,
The consolation of a little envy ;
'Tis all their pay for those superior cares,
Those pangs of heart their vassals ne'er can feel.

Young.

GERANIUM, Fish.

Pelargonium inquinans.

Disappointed Let this

expectation. Tell thee what I suffer by thy stay —

Did seas divide us, this might well excuse
Thy negligence, and my fond heart abuse.

* * *

But thou art changed ! That ardour is expir'd,
Which once thy wishes with impatience fir'd.

Mary Q. of F. to C. Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.

Where now are all my flatt'ring dreams of joy ?

Smollet.

It is unkind delay

Destroys my hopes. * * * *
Who can bear this, and keep an equal mind ?

Sophocles' Electro.

Why didst thou say I was brighter far
Than the bright ray of the ev'ning star ?

Why didst thou come,

Seeking my home,
Till I believ'd that thy vows were sincere ?

I ask no vengeance from the powers above,
All I implore is, never more to love !

. Song.

Lyttelton.

GERANIUM, Ivy. Your hand for the next Be her my choice, who knows with perfect skill

Pelargonium peltatum.

quadrille

When she should move, and when she should stand still ;
Who, uninstructed, can perform her share,
And kindly half the pleasing burthen bear.
* * * *

A nameless grace does in her movements dwell,
Which words can ne'er express, or precepts tell.
'Tis such an air that makes her thousands fall
When Fielding dances at a birth-night ball ;
Smooth as Camilla she skims o'er the plain,
And flies, like her, through crowds of heroes slain.

S. Jenyns.

Answer.

We '11 knit hands and beat the ground,
In a light fantastic round

Milton.

GERANIUM, Nutmeg.

P. odoratissimum.

An expected meeting The joys of meeting pay the pangs of absence ;

Else who could bear it? Rowe.

GERANIUM.

(Continued.)

The heavy hours are almost past,
That part my love and me ;

My longing eyes may hope at last
Their only wish to see . . .

Lyttdton.

I go my love to meet —
Oh ! may I find her as we parted last —
And may each future hour be like the past. . same.
\ »

Oh ! how impatience gains upon the soul,
When the long promised hour of joy draws near !
How slow the tardy moments seem to roll ! Mrs. Tighe.

'Tis sweet to know there is an eye will mark

Our coming, and look brighter when we come. Byron.

Let fate frown on, so we part not ;
'Tis life where thou art, 'tis death where thou art not.

Moore.

GERANIUM, Oak.

P. quercifolium.

Lady, deign to smile. Oh. where are the bright gleaming glances I miss ?

Anon.

Do not blast my springing hopes,

That thy kind hand has planted in my soul ! . Rowe.

Nor send me by thy frown from her I love,

Distant and sad ; a banish'd man to rove. . . Prior.

What dangerous action, stood it next to death,
Would I not undergo for one calm look ? . . Shaks.

Loose, now and then, a scatter'd smile,

And that I '11 live upon same.

Lady, I pray thee give
One look whereon may absence live.
One word, upon my ear to dwell,
And then, sweet lady mine — farewell ! . . L. E. L.

GERANIUM, Rose.

P. capita turn.

Preference. But *hee I love, by love's own sweet constraint. Shaks.

Admir'd Miranda !
Indeed, the top of admiration : worth
What 's dearest to the world ! full many a lady
I have eyed with best regard ; and many a time
The harmony of their tongues hath into bondage
Brought my too diligent ears ; but you — Oh, you,
So perfect and so peerless, are created
Of every creature best Shaks.

-4-

GERANIUM.

(Continued.)

And preferred in his heart the least ringlet that curl'd
Down her exquisite neck, to the throne of the world.

Moore.

GERANIUM, Silver Leaved.

P. argentifolium.

Recall. Something since his going forth is thought of,

That his return is now most necessary. . . .

Shaks.

How angrily I taught my brow to frown,

When inward joy enforc'd my heart to smile.

My penance is, to call * * * * back,

And ask remission for my folly past same.

'Tis not in language to impart

The secret meltings of my heart. Addison's Rosamond.

Fain would my tongue his griefs appease,

And give his tortur'd bosom ease same.

If in thy soul thou 'si ever felt

Half what thy lips impassion'd swore.

If thou hast known
No other flame, nor falsely thrown
A gem away that thou hast sworn
Should ever in thy heart be worn. .

Moore.

Come, and remove doubts of my love;
But, if thou lov'st me not, come not to me.
Oh ! if thy vow wearies thee now,
Though I may weep for thee, never come here.

Song.

Answer*

Doubt thou the stars are fire ;
Doubt that the sun doth move ;
Doubt truth to be a liar ;
But never doubt I love. . ,

Shaks.

GILLY FLOWER.
Cheiranthus incanus.

Bonds of Affection.

If this, ho cried, bondage be,
Who would wish for liberty ?

Moore.

Oh ! who the exquisite delights can tell,
The joy which mutual confidence imparts ?
Or who can paint the charm unspeakable,
Which links in tender bands two faithful hearts ?

Mrs. Tighe's Psyche.

GILLY FLOWER.

(Continued.)

Oh ! the tender ties,

Close twisted with the fibres of the heart!
Which broken, break them, and drain off the soul
Of human joy, and make it pain to live. . . Young.

It is the secret sympathy,

The silver link, the silken tie,

Which heart to heart, and mind to mind,

In body and in soul can bind ,

Scott.

Oh ! if there be an elysium on earth,

It is this —

When two that are link'd in one heavenly tie,
Love on through all ills, and love on till they die.

Moore.

GOLDEN ROD;

or, Virgo aurea.
Solidaga.

Encouragement. Vivez : le sceptre d'or que vous tend cette main,

Pour vous de ma clemence est un gage certain.

Racine's Esther.

Lady Easy. Pray, when you found you could not like
him at first, why did you ever encourage him ?

Lady B. Modish. Why, what would you have one
do ? for my part I could no more choose a man by my
eye, than a shoe : one must draw them on a little to
see if they are right to one's foot.

Lady E. But I 'd no more fool on with a man I could
not like, than I 'd wear a shoe that pinch'd me.

Lady B. Ay, but then a poor wretch tells one, he '11
widen 'em, or do any thing ; and is so civil and silly,
that one does not know how to turn such a trifle as a
pair of shoes, or an heart, upon a fellow's hands again.

Colley Gibber.

Answer.

Quelle voix salutaire ordonne que je vive,
Et rappelle en mon sein mon ame fugitive ?

Racine's Esther.

That word beams comfort * * a ray

That brightens through the melancholy gloom.

JEschylus. The Persians.

Blest be the hour, he cried, that happy hour,

When first I own'd my Delia's power. . . Lyttelton.

He found her kind, and soon believed her true. same.

GRAPE, Wild.
Vitis vinifera.

Charity.

In faith and hope, the world will disagree,

But all mankind's concern is charity. . . . Pope.

Uncultur'd, unprun'd, and unguided by art,
The sweet blossom'd wild grape is found ;

As charity springs from the untutor'd heart,

Embracing all objects around B. L. L.

No piteous object could she see,
But her soft bosom shar'd the wo,

While smiles of affability
Endear'd whatever boon she might bestow. . Shaw.

Fond to oblige, too gentle to offend,

Belov'd by all, to all too good a friend ;

The bad she censur'd, by her life alone,

Blind to their faults, severe upon her own.

In others' griefs a tender part she bore,

And all the needy shar'd her little store. . . Anon,

He hath a tear for pity, and a hand
Open as day for melting charity. .

Shaks.

No harsh reflections let remembrance raise,

Forbear to mention what thou canst not praise. Prior.

As in a picture, if the faults abound,

The artist veils them in a shade profound ;

So in the errors of the friends we see,

Oh, shroud them hi the shade of charity. . . Anon.

GRASS.

Gramina.

Submission.

I, as a child, will go by thy direction*

Shaks.

My voice shall sound as you do prompt mine ear ;

And I will stoop and humble my intents

To your well practis'd, wise directions. = . . same.

I shall the effect of this good lesson keep

As watchman to my heart same.

HAWTHORN.

CratiEgus.
A. Mespilus.

Hope.

And cheerful hope, so oft invok'd in vain,

With fairy songs shall soothe his pensive ear. Collins.

Hope is a lover's staff, walk hence with that,

And manage it against despairing thoughts. . Shaks.

HAWTHORN.

(Continued.)

This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower, when next we meet.

Shaks.

Answer.
I feel a dawn of joy break in upon me! . . Addison.

Thy words have darted hope into my soul,

And comfort dawns upon me Southern.

Oh ! speak that again !
Sweet as the syren's tongue those accents fall. Southey.

Oh, it came o'er my soul, like the sweet south

That breathes upon a bank of violets,

Stealing and giving odour ! Shaks.

'Twas whisper'd balm, 'twas sunshine spoken ! Moore.

I 'd live years of grief and pain,

To have my long sleep of sorrow broken

By such benign, blessed sounds, again. . . . same.

HEART'S EASE, Forget me not.

Yellow and Purple.

Viola tricolor.

Though we should meet no more,
Sweet maid, forget me not. . .

Think of him whose prayer shall bless thee ;
Think of him thy love had bless'd ! . . .

Anon.

Byron.

He ne'er will forget the short vision that threw
Its enchantments around him, while lingering with you.

Moore.

t " Forget me not, when others gaze
Enamoured on thee, with the looks of praise.
When weary leagues between us both are cast,
And each dull hour seems heavier than the last,
Oh ! then forget me not !"

Answer.

Remember thee, and all thy pains —

And all thy love for me !
Yes ! while a breath, a pulse remains,

Will I remember thee ! Montgomery.

Oh ! think of her who holds thee dear !
And think that thou art all to her. .

Byron.

May joy thy steps attend,
And mayest thou find in every form a friend ;
With care unsullied be thy every thought,
And in thy dreams of home, forget me not! . Song.

HEART'S EASE,

Purple.

Viola tricolor.

You occupy my Neither rhyme nor reason can express how much !

thoughts.

Shaks.

My love for thee is such, as absence ne'er can quell.

Anon.

Dwelling deep in my shut and silent heart ! ' Byron.

And in

My soul, which flies to thee, her trust, her treasure —
As misers to their gold, while others rest. Young.

Whilst love, by absence fed, without control
Tumultuous rushes on his soul.

jEschylus1 Agamemnon.

HEART'S EASE, Wild.
Viola tricolor.

Love in idleness. While idly I stood looking on,

I found the effect of love in idleness !

Shaks.

I looked, and looked, and still with new delight ;
Such joy my soul, such pleasure filled my sight.

Dryden, from Chaucer.

Helen, I love thee ; by my life I do ;

I swear by that which I will lose for thee,

To prove him false, that says I love thee not.

Shaks.

And all the faith, the virtue of my heart,
The object, and the pleasure of mine eye,

Is on Helena same.

Whom I do love, and will do to my death. same.

HELIOTROPE.
Heliotropium.

Devotion. Gaze on my cheek,

And let its hue when thou art near, my heart's devotion

speak,

Look on my dim and tearful eye, my pale and rigid brow,
And list my wild, unbidden sigh, — what need of pledge

or vow. Anon.

I behold her

With adoration — feast my eye, while all
My other senses starve ; and oft frequenting
The place which she makes happy with her presence,
I never yet had power, with tongue or pen,
To move her to compassion, or make known
What 'tis I languish for; yet I must gaze still
Though it increase my flame.

Massinger's Bashful Lover.

HELIOTROPE. ^ne was a f°rm °f ^e

That seen became a part of sight ;
(Continued.) And rose where'er I turn'd my eye,

The morning star of memory ! Byron.

So turns the needle to the pole it loves

With fine librations quiv'ring as it moves. Darwin.

Her overpowering presence made you feel

It would not be idolatry to kneel Byron.

Answer.

If you do love the maid —
Bend thoughts and wits to achieve her. . . . Shaks.

jfc
Cross your meek arms, incline your w/eathed brows,

And win the goddess with unwearied Vows. Darwin.

HELLEBORE. Calumny. Scandal. Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious stroke. Shaks.

Helleborus. jjo might nor greatness in mortality

Can censure 'scape; back-wounding calumny

The whitest virtue strikes ; what king so strong,

Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue ? same.

y

On eagle's wings immortal scandals fly ;

While virtuous actions are but born to die. Harvey.

X

It is a busy talking world,

That with licentious breath blows like the wind,
As freely on the palace as the cottage. . . . Rowe.

Nor do they trust their tongues alone,
But speak a language of their own ;

******

Convey a libel in a frown,

And wink a reputation down Swift.

We must not stint
Our necessary actions, in the fear
To cope malicious censures Shaks.

i The silence often of pure innocence

Persuades, when speaking fails same.

HIBISCUS.

Venetian Mallow ;
or, Flower of an hour.

Hibiscus trionum.

Delicate Beauty.

Early, bright, transient, chaste as morning dew

She sparkled Young.

Oh, fairest flower, no sooner blown, but blasted.

Beauty is but a vain, a fleeting good,
A shining gloss that fadeth suddenly ;

A flow'r that dies when almost in the bud ;
A brittle glass that breaketh presently ;

A fleeting good, a gloss, a glass, a flow'r,
Lost, faded, broken, dead, within an hour.

Milton.

Shaks.

But beauty how frail and how fleeting,

The bloom of a fine summer's day ;
While worth in the mind of my Phillis

Will flourish without a decay Burns.

What 's beauty ? — call you that your own,
A flower that fades as soon as blown ? . .

Who trusts beauty, trusts the fading rose.

Gay.

Youth with rapid swiftness flies,

Beauty's lustre quickly dies Horace.

HOLLY.
Ilex.

Am I forgotten?

And can thy promise to be mine,

Be e'er forgot ?
If pity in that bosom dwell,
My fears, my jealous fears dispel,

Forget me not !

My life would waste in grief, sweet maid,
As wounded flow'rets droop and fade,

By thee forgot !

Thou bad'st me thy fond vows believe,
And can'st thou now my hopes deceive,

Sweet maid !

Oh ! think upon those vows, dear maid,
When in the grove at eve we 've stray'd,
Deceive me not, my lovely maid. . .

Oh ! if she loves as I have loved,
She never can forget !

Bayly.

Answer.

Forget thee ! no never — among the light hearted,

Love may sink to decay, when the fond ones are parted

But affection like ours is too deep and sublime,

To be chill'd in its ardour by absence or time.

I will not forget thee, till life's latest day

In the dark night of death shall have melted away.

Barbour,

HOLLY.

(Continued.)

He loves me still !
And still my heart shall prove,
How well it can those vows fulfil,

Which first repaid his love !

. . Anon.

HOLLYHOCK.

Ambition.

Powerful source of good and ill! Young.

That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds. . Shaks.

Great souls

By nature half divine, soar to the stars,
And hold a near acquaintance with the gods. Rowe.

Souls truly great dart forward on the wing

Of just ambition, to the grand result. . . . Young.

Not by words

Would Theseus be distinguished, but by deeds
Illustrious Sophocles' CEdipus Coloneus.

HOLLYHOCK, White.
A.R.

Female Ambition.

Ambition is at distance
A goodly prospect, tempting to the view ;
The height delights us, and the mountain top
Looks beautiful, because 'tis nigh to heaven ;
But we ne'er think how sandy 's the foundation ;
What storms will batter, and what tempests shake it.
Otway^s Venice Preserved.

The heart is woman's world — it is there her ambition
strives for empire Sketch Book.

Oh ! man has power of head and hand —
Heart is woman's dower

L. E. L.

Man's love is of man's life a thing apart,

'Tis woman's whole existence Byron.

A bold ambition prompts my heart,

The towering hope that love supplies,

The wish in blessing to be blest.

The meaner prospects I despise,

That wealth, or rank, or power bestow. . Cartwright.

HONESTY ;

or, Satin Flower.
Lunar ia.

Sincerity. On my heart I will pledge you my vow,

And they both must be broken together. »•>

And I will die a hundred thousand deaths,
Ere break the smallest parcel of this vow.

Moore.

Shaks.

--*.

HONESTY.

(Continued.)

Answer.

Thy words convince me ; all my doubts are vanished.
Mschylus1 Agamemnon.

His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles ;
His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate ;
His tears, pure messengers sent from his heart ;
His heart, as far from guile, as heaven from earth.

Skaks.

Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway.

Goldsmith.

HONEY FLOWER.
Melianthus.

Speak /OH), if you And tell, with honey'd words, the tale of love.
speak love.

Darwin.

How silver sweet sound lovers' tongues by night,
Like softest music to attending ears. . . . S/taks.

That voice was wont to come in gentle whispers,
And fill my ears with the soft breath of love. Otway.

'Twas like the stealing

Of summer wind through some wreathed shell;
Each secret winding, each inmost feeling
Of all my soul, echo'd to its spell ! .... Moore.

Ours, too, the glance none saw beside ;

The smile none else might understand ;

The whisper'd thought of hearts allied ;

The pressure of the thrilling hand Byron.

HONEY FLOWER.
Mourning Bride.
M.

/ have lost all. With whom, alas ! I fondly hoped to know

The humble walks of happiness below. . . Rogers.

With thee were the dreams of my earliest love ;
Every thought of my reason was thine. . . Moore.

My soul's first idol — and its last same.

Oh grief, beyond all other griefs, when fate

First leaves the young heart lone and desolate,

In the wide world, without that only tie,

For which it lov'd to live, or fear'd to die ! same.

HONEYSUCKLE, Coral.
Lonicera sempervirens.

The colour of The day too short for my distress ; and night,
my fate. E'en in the zenith of her dark domain,

Is sunshine, to the colour of my fate. . . . Younc

•A-

HONEYSUCKLE.

(Continued.)

Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty !

Shaks.

Still thine own, its life retaineth —

Still must mine though bleeding beat ! . . . Byron.

I with grief have striven,
But find with each receding day,
The arrow deeper driven ! C. G.

Deep in my breast the rosy tyrant dwells,
Piercing, with cruel aim, each poison'd dart —

And if my eye, my soul's sad torment tells,
It speaks the secret anguish of my heart. . . . Song.

Oh, cruel ! will no pang of pity pierce that heart !

Beattie.

HONEYSUCKLE.
Lonicera.

1 would not answer
hastily.

We would consider of your suit,

And come some other time to know our mind. Shaks,

But lest you should not understand me well,

(And yet, a maiden hath no tongue but thought,)

I would detain you here some month or two,

Before you venture for me Shaks.

If you oblige me suddenly to choose,

My choice is made — and I must you refuse. Dryden.

So much to win, so much to lose —

No marvel that I fear to choose L. E. L.

HONEYSUCKLE, Wild.
Azalea.

Generous and Yet, let me say, what firmly I believe,

devoted love. Love can be — ay, and is. I hold that love
Which chooseth from a thousand only one
To be the object of that tenderness
Natural to every heart ; which can resign
Its own best happiness for one dear sake :
Can bear with absence ; hath no part in hope,
For hope is somewhat selfish, love is not —
And doth prefer another to itself.
Unchangeable and generous : what, like love,
Can melt away the dross of worldliness ;
Can elevate, refine, and make the heart
Of that pure gold which is the fitting shrine
For fire, as sacred as e'er came from heaven?

L. E. L.

Venetian Bracelet.

HONEYSUCKLE.

(Continued.)

Love, which nor defeated hope, nor baffled wile,

Could render sullen, were she ne'er to smile,

Nor rage could fire, nor sickness fret to vent

On her one murmur of his discontent ;

Which still would meet with joy, with calmness part,

Lest that his look of grief should reach her heart ;

Which nought remov'd, nor threaten'd to remove.

Byron.

HOUSTONIA.

Houstonia coerulea.

Content. ' Contentment gives a crown,

Where fortune hath deny'd it.vj-

Ford.

My crown is in my heart, not on my head ;

Nor deck'd with diamonds, and Indian stones,

Nor to be seen : my crown is call'd content ;

A crown it is, that seldom kings enjoy. . . Shaks.

Tis better to be lowly born,
And range with humble livers, in content,
Than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief,
And wear a golden sorrow ........ same.

Honour and shame from no condition rise,

Act well your part, there all the honour lies. Pope.

Much will always wanting be
To him who much desires. Thrice happy he
To whom the wise indulgency of heaven,
With sparing hand, but just enough has given.

Cowley.

Who lives to nature, rarely can be poor —

Who lives to fancy, never can be rich. . . . Young.

HYACINTH.

Hyacinthus.

Jealousy.

Love, thou knowest, is full of jealousy !

In gentle love the sweetest joys we find —
Yet even those joys, dire jealousy molests,
And blackens each fair image in our breasts.

Trifles light as air

Are, to the jealous, confirmation strong
As proof of holy writ

Shaks.

Lyttelton.

A slight, a single glance,
And shot at random, often has brought home
A sudden fever to the throbbing heart. . .

Shaks.

Young.

HYACINTH.

(Continued.)

Oh, how with one trivial glance,
Might she ruin the peace of my mind !

Shenstone.

HYDRANGER.

Hydrangea hortensis.

A boaster. One whom the music of his own vain tongue

Doth ravish, like enchanting harmony. . . - Shaks.

JASMINE, White.
Jasminum officinale.

The lad of all sufficient merit,

With modesty, ne'er damps his spirit.

Gay.

The breath of others raises our renown ;
Our own, as surely blows the pageant down ;
Take up no more than you by worth can claim,
Lest soon you prove a bankrupt in your fame.

* * *

Superior honour, when assumed, is lost. . . Young.

Amabllity . More fair,

More sweet, than the jassamine's flower !

What are pinks in a morn to compare ?

What is eglantine after a shower ? . . . Shenstone.

You bear a gentle mind, and heavenly
Blessings follow such creatures. . .

Shaks.

Not only good and kin d,
But strong and elevated was her mind. . Lyttelton.

Still o'er my life preserve thy mild control,
Correct my views, and elevate my soul. .

And love, and gentleness, and joy impart. . Beattie.

Answer.

Not to delight thine eye alone design'd,

But touch, and calm, and elevate the mind. Anon.

JASMINE, Yellow. Grace and Elegance. Graceful to sight, and elegant to thought.

Bignonia sempervirens. Sweet thoughts are mirror'd in her face,

And every motion is a grace

Young.

C***e.

Her grace of motion, and of look, the smooth

And swimming majesty of step and tread,

The symmetry of form and feature, set

The soul afloat, even like delicious airs

Of flute and harp Milman.

JASMINE, Yellow.

(Continued.)

Grace that with tenderness and sense combin'd

To form that harmony of soul, of face,
Where beauty shines the mirror of the mind. Mason.

I have been often dazzled by the blaze

Of sun-like beauty ; but till now ne'er knew

Perfected loveliness ; all the harmonies

Of form, of feature, and of soul displayed

In one bright creature, as in thee, my love ;

In whom, beyond compare, her fairest work

Maternal nature hath summed all perfection. S. P. C.

ICE PLANT.

Mesembryanthemum crystallihum.

Rejected addresses. Alas! my lord, if talking would prevail,
I could suggest much better arguments,

Than those regards you throw away on me ;
Your valour, honour, wisdom, praised by all :
But bid physicians talk our veins to temper,
And with an argument new-set a pulse ;
Then think, my lord, of reasoning into love.

Young.

Love is not in our power,

Nay, what seems stranger, is not in our choice :
We only love, where fate ordains we should,
And blindly fond, oft slight superior merit. . Frowde.

I cannot love him :

Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble,
Of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth,
In voices well divulg'd, learn'd, and valiant,
And in dimensions, and the shape of nature,
A gracious person : but yet I cannot love him. Shaks.

If of herself she will not love,
Nothing can move her. . .

Sir J. Suckling.

JONQUIL,

Rush-leaved.

Narcissus Jonquilla.

/ desire a return of
affection.

Dissolve me into ecstasies,

And bring all heaven before mine eyes ! . . Milton.

The joy most like divine
Of all I ever dreamt or knew,
To see thee, hear thee, call thee mine ! . . . Moore.

IRIS.

Iris.

Tell thyself what I would say —

Thou know'st it, and I feel too much to pray. Dryden.

IRIS.

(Continued.)

She knew she was by him belov'd — she knew

(For quickly comes such knowledge) that his heart

Was darken'd with her shadow, and she saw

That he was wretched, but she saw not all. . Byron.

A lover's look

Is his heart's Mercury. O ! the eye's eloquence,
Twin-born with thought, outstrips the tardy voice,
Far swifter than the nimble lightning's flash,
The sluggish thunder-peal that follows it.

George Coleman's Iron Chest.

IVY.

Hedera.

Matrimony. I have found

One true companion, one dear soul is mine,
Whose converse still doth soothe, arouse, refine.

Howitt.

One sacred oath has tied our loves ! . . . . Prior.

Say, shall I love the fading beauty less,
Whose spring-tide radiance has been wholly mine ?
No — come what will, thy steadfast truth I '11 bless ;
In youth, in age, thine own — for ever thine.

A. A. Watts.

Blest in a wife whose beauty, though so rare,
Is the least grace of all that round her wait.

Edwards.

The pure, open, prosperous love,
That, pledg'd on earth, and seal'd above,
Grows in the world's approving eyes,
In friendship's smile, and home's caress ;
Collecting all the heart's sweet ties
Into one knot of happiness

Moore.

LABURNUMV
Cytisus laburnum.

Pensive beauty. Fair was her form ; but who can hope to trace

The pensive softness of her angel face? . . Rogers.

When pensive, it seem'd as if that very grace,
That charm of all others, was born with her face.

Moore.

Pensive grace

Was in her every motion, and her look
Had something sacred in it, that declared
How pure the spirit in that form enshrined,
Like light that dwelleth in the diamond gem. S. P. C.

LABURNUM.

(Continued.)

There was a soft and pensive grace,
A cast of thought upon her face,
That suited well the forehead high,
The eye-lash dark, and downcast eye ;
The mild expression spoke a mind
In duty firm, composed, resigned. . .

Scott.

LADY'S SLIPPFR.
Cypripedium.

Capricious beauty.

Fair Cypripedia, with successful guile,

Knits her smooth brow, extinguishes her smile.

Darwin.

When angry — for ev'n in the tranquillest climes,
Light breezes will ruffle the blossoms sometimes —
The short passing anger but seem'd to awaken
New beauty, like flowers that are sweetest when shaken.

Moore.

Say that she frown ; I '11 say she looks as clear

As morning roses newly wash'd in dew. . . . Shaks.

No, not the bow which so adorns the skies,
So glorious is, or boasts so many dyes. . .

Waller.

She will, and she will not, she grants, denies,
Consents, retracts, advances, and then flies. Granville.

Come, come, 't will not do ! put that purling brow down ;
You can't, for the soul of you, learn how to frown.

H. K. White.

LAGERSTRJEMIA, Indian.

-L. Indica.

Eloquence. v Every word he speaks is is a syren's note
To draw the careless hearen J . . . .

Beaumont.

Celestial raptures flowed in every word,

In every motion, kindling warmth divine,

To seize who listen'd Akenside.

Whose words all ears took captive Shaks.

With an eloquence — not like those rills from a height
Which sparkle, and foam, and in vapour are o'er,

But a current that works out its way into light,
Through the filtering recesses of thought and of lore.

Moore.

So sweet and voluble is his discourse,
That aged ears play truant at his tales,
And younger hearings are quite ravished.

Shaks.

LAGERSTRJEMIA.

(Continued.)

When Minerva rose,
From her sweet lips smooth elocution flows. Gay.

Gaze as we learn, and as we listen, love. . Darwin.

Whose gentle lips persuade without a word,
Whose words, e'en when unmeaning, are ador'd.

Moore.

'Tis not the powerful arm,
But soft enchanting tongue, that governs all.

Sophocles' Philoctetes.

To listen to her, is to seem to wander

In some enchanted labyrinth of romance,

Whence nothing but the lovely fairy's will

That wove the spell, can extricate the wanderer. Scott.

LARKSPUR.

Delphinium.

Lightness. For unto knight there is no greater shame,

Than lightness, and inconstancy in love. . . Spencer.

Men's fancies are more giddy and unfirm,
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and won,

Than women's are. . . . Shaks.

He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat,

It ever changeth with the next block same.

No woman can endure a recreant knight. . . Dryden.

They know how fickle common lovers are ;

Their oaths, and vows, are cautiously believed,

For few there are, but have been once deceived, same.

LARKSPUR, Pink.
D.

Fickleness. Ladies whose love is constant as the wind. . Young.

We in vain the fickle sex pursue,

Who change the constant lover for the new. Prior.

Of constancy no rootinfix'd,

That either they love nothing, or not long. same.

Inconstant as the passing wind,

As winter's dreary frost unkind ;

To fix her, 'twere a task as vain

To count the April drops of rain Smollet.

She was fair — and my passion begun ;
She smiled — and I could not but love ;
She is faithless — and I am undone. . . . Shcnstone.

LARKSPUR.

Answer.

(Continued.)

Lightly thou say'st that woman's love is false,

The thought is falser far —

For some of them are true as martyrs' legends,

As full of suffering faith, of burning love,

Of high devotion — worthier of heaven than earth ;

O, I do know a tale ! Maturin.

LAUREL.
Kalmia.

Treachery.

goodly outside falsehood hath ! . . Shaks.

What is man's love ? His vows are broke,

Even while his parting kiss is warm. 1. . . Halleck.

He is composed and fram'd of treachery ! . . Shaks.

Stealing her soul with many vows of faith,

And ne'er a true one ! same.

Vanish'd is the faith of oaths.

Euripides' Medea.

Oh ! colder than the wind that freezes
Founts, that but now in sunshine play'd,

Is that congealing pang which seizes
The trusting bosom when betray'd. .

Moore.

* * * * He in whom
My heart had treasur'd all its boast and pride,
Proves faithless ........ Euripides' Medea.

And all this, too, from him whom once I deemed
Stranger to fraud, nor capable of ill.

• Sophocles1 Philoctetes.

Then fare-thee-well — I 'd rather make

My bower upon some icy lake,

When thawing suns begin to shine,

Than trust to love so false as thine ..... Moore.

LAURUSTINUS.
Viburnum tinus.

A token. -^ laurustinus bear in blossom to my love. . . Anon.

And mark me while I vow,

By all this heart hath borne for thee, by all it suffers now,
In grief, or gladness, hope, despair, in bliss, or misery,
I '11 be, what I have ever been, to thee, to only thee !

Moore.

Accept of this ; and could I add beside

What wealth the rich Peruvian mountains hide ;

If all the gems in eastern rocks were mine,

On thee alone their glittering pride should shine.

Lyttelton.

LAURUSTINUS.

(Continued.)

She knew whose hand had gathered them, she knew
Whose sigh and touch were on their scent and hue.

Pickersgill.

LAVENDER.
Lavandula.

Distrust.

Trust him not ; his words, though sweet,

Seldom with his heart do meet :

All his practice is deceit. B. Jonson.

The language that flows from the heart,

Is a stranger to Paridel's tongue. . . . Shenstone.

'Tis his with mock passion to glow,

'Tis his, with smooth tales, to unfold,

How her face is as bright as the snow,

And her bosom, be sure, is as cold same.

LEMON BLOSSOM.

Citrus limon.

Discretion. And from the precipice's brink retire,

Afraid to venture on so large a leap. . . . Dryden.

Press me not, 'beseech you so ; —

There is no tongue that moves, none, none i' th' world,

So soon as yours, could win me Shaks,

His air, his voice, his looks, and honest soul,

Speak all too movingly in his behalf,

I dare not trust myself to hear him talk. . Addison.

Our separate fortune
Shall keep us both the safer same.

She will not stay the siege of loving terms,

Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes. . . same.

Prudent, lest from her resolution rais'd. . . Milton.
So far hath discretion fought with nature. . . Shaks.

LICHEN.
Tree Moss.

Solitude. Wisdom's self

Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude ;
Where, with her best nurse, contemplation,
She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings,
That in the various bustle of resort
Were all too ruffled, and sometimes impair'd.

Milton.

LICHEN.

(Continued.)

No, 'tis not here that solitude is known,

Through the wide world he only is alone

Who lives not for another Rogers.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,

There is a rapture in the lonely shore,

There is society, where none intrudes,

By the deep sea, and music in its roar.

I love not man the less, but nature more,

From these our interviews, in which I steal

From all I may be, or have been before,

To mingle with the universe, and feel

What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

Byron.

If from society we learn to live,
'Tis solitude should teach us how to die ;
It hath no flatterers ; vanity can give
No hollow aid ; alone — man with his God must strive.

same.

LILAC, Purple.

Syringa.

The first emotions
of love.

Methinks I feel this youth's perfections
Steal with an invisible and subtle stealth,
To creep in at mine eyes. Well, let it be !

Shaks.

Love, where he gets possession, his first work

Is to dig deep within a heart, and there

Lie hid, and, like a miser in the dark,

To feast alone Dryden.

The yielding smile that 's half supprest,

The short quick breath, the trembling tear,

The swell tumultuous of the breast,

In Armine's favour all appear Cartwright.

How beautiful she look'd ! her conscious heart
Glow'd in her cheek, and yet she felt no wrong.

Byron.

LILAC, White.

Syringa vulgaris.

Youth. A lovely being scarcely form'd or moulded,

A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded. Byron.

Now is the morning of thy years,

And all is joy before thee ! B. Chester.

Glad spirits sparkled in Narcissa's eyes,

And made youth younger, and taught life to live.

Young.

LILAC.

(Continued.)

Thou art now in thy dreaming time :
The green leaves on the bough ;

The sun-shine turning them to gold
Are pleasures to thee now. . .

L. E. L.

To a young Poetess.

Thy hands are fill'd with early flowers,

Thy step is on the wind ;
The innocent and keen delight

Of youth is on thy mind ;
That glad fresh feeling that bestows
Itself the pleasure which it knows,

The pure, the undefined

LILY, White.

Lilium candidum.

Purity and sweetness.

His years but young, but his experience old ;
His head unmellow'd, but his judgment ripe.

Shaks.

Though .few his years, the west already knows
Young Azim's fame Moore.

Every thing about her resembles the purity of her soul.

Law.

Around her shone

The light of love, the purity of grace,
The mind, the music breathing from her face ;
The heart whose softness harmonized the whole ;
And, oh ! that eye was in itself a soul ! . . . Byron.

Her form was fresher than the morning rose,

When the dew wets its leaves ; unstain'd and pure

As is the lily, or the mountain snow. . . Thomson.

I saw her coral lips to move,
And with her breath she did perfume the air.
Sacred, and sweet, was all I saw in her. . .

Shaks.

With looks too bright and beautiful for such a world as
this Author of Sol. Hours.

Innocence shines in the lily's bell,
Pure as a heart in its native heaven.

. Percival.

Ye lilies, bathed in morning dew,

Of purity, and innocence renew

Each lovely thought Bernard Barton.

LILY, Yellow.

Lilium lutea.

Falsehood. And yet he falsely said he was in love.

He 's light as air,
False as the fowler's artful snare. . .

Dryden.

Smollet.

And days may come, thou false one, yet,

* * * *

When thou wilt call with vain regret,
On her thou 'st lost for ever.

On her, who in thy fortune's fall,
With smiles had still receiv'd thee,

And gladly died to prove thee all

Her fancy first believ'd thee. . . ,

Moore.

LILY OF THE VALLEY.

Convallaria.

Delicacy. With secret sighs the virgin lily droops. . . Darwin.

* * * * Like the lily,
That once was mistress of the field, and flourished,
I '11 hang my head and perish Shake.

She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud,
Feed on her damask cheek ; she pin'd in thought.

Her eye may grow dim, and her cheek may grow pale,
But tell they not both the same fond tale ?
Love's lights have fled from her eye and her cheek
To burn and die on the heart which they seek.

L. E. L.

And had he not long read
The heart's hush'd secret, in the soft dark eye
Lighted at his approach, and on the cheek,
Colouring all crimson at his lightest look ? . . same.

What is the tale that I would tell ? not one

Of strange adventure, but a common tale

Of woman's wretchedness ; one to be read

Daily, in many a young and blighted heart. . same.

The wounded dove, when dying, feels the smart,

Closing her wings, conceals the cruel dart :

So love, abandon'd, flies from every eye,

Conceals its woes, in solitude to die. . . . Irving.

LOCOST,

The green leaves.

Robinia.
Pseudo Acacia,.

Affection beyond the In his grave assure thyself my love is buried. Skaks.

grave.

Time tempers love, but not removes,
More hallow'd when its hope is fled ;
Oh ! what are thousand living loves,
To that which cannot quit the dead.

When true hearts are wither'd,

And fond ones are flown,

Oh, who would inhabit

This bleak world alone ? . . . .

. . Byron.

Moore.

When the stem dies, the leaf that grew

Out of its heart, must perish too same.

The tear that is shed, though in secret it roll,

Shall long keep his memory green in my soul. same.

Sorrow ends not when it seemeth done.

Skaks.

LOTOS FLOWER.
The Water Lotos.

Estranged love. Hero the poor lover than has long endured

Some proud nymph's scorn, of his fond passion cured.

Sliaks.

This weak impress of love, is as a figure
Trenched in ice ; which, with an hour's heat,
Dissolves to water, and doth lose his form. . . same.

At first I did adore a twinkling star,

But now I worship a celestial sun.

TJnheedful vows may hecdfully be broken. . . same.

So the remembrance of my former love

Is by a newer object quite forgotten same.

Answer.
Some witchery seems to await you ! . . . . Moore.

Are you not Lysander ?
I am as fair now, as I was erewhile. . . . Shaks.

Read over Julia's heart, thy first best love,
For whose dear sake thou didst then rend thy faith
Into a thousand oaths : and all those oaths
Descended into perjury same.

She dreams of him that has forgot her love. . same.

But you,
" In all, save form alone, how changed !" . . Byron.

LOTOS FLOWER.

(Continued.)

Lovers, and madmen, have such scathing brains,

Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend

More than cool reason ever comprehends. . . Shaks.

To nurse strange doubts, and groundless fears.

Mrs. Barbauld.

LOTOS LEAF.

Lotos.

Recantation. You well may ask—

" Wherefore doth Lysander
Deny your love, so rich within his soul?" . . Shaks.

Have I not managed my contrivance well

To try your love, and make you doubt of mine ?

Dryden.

Hence then for ever from my Emma's breast,
(That heaven of softness, and that seat of rest,)
Ye doubts and fears, and all that know to move
Tormenting grief, and all that trouble love,
Scatter'd by winds recede, and wild in forests rove.

Prior.

Hear, solemn Jove ! and, conscious Venus, hear !
And thou, bright maid, believe me whilst 1 swear ;
No time, no change, no future flame, shall move
The well-plac'd basis of my lasting love. . . same.

And here to pledge my vow, I give my hand. Shaks.

LOVE IN-A-MIST.
Nigella damascena.

Perplexity. Love in these labyrinths his slave detains ! . . Pope.

Perplexity and doubt distract rny thoughts.

JEschylus1 Agamemnon.

\ In such a maze of love my thoughts are lost. )

Addwori's Ovid.

{ Long, long held by a spell too dear,
Thy smile has kept thy loiterer here.
Almost it seem'd enough for me,
Of heaven, to only gaze on thee ;
But love lights high and gallant thought,
A rich prize must be dearly bought. . . . L. E. L.

And must I go — " Without the hope

My foolish heart still clings to, though that hope

Is like the opiate which may lull awhile,

Then wake to double torture ?" . '. . . . . same.

LOVE IN-A-MIST.

(Continued.)

Without a word, a look of tenderness,

To be called up, when, in his lonely hours

He would indulge in weeping Rogers.

LOVE LIES-A-BLEED1NG.
Amaranthus caudatus.

Hopeless, not The dead will soon forget, and I
heartless. Shall soon be with the dead.

Anon.

I had not lived till now, could sorrow kill !
Death shuns the wretch, who fain the blow would meet.

Byron.

Ambition's dreams I 've seen depart ;

*****

Have felt of love the venom'd dart
When hope has flown

Scott.

Oh ! had we never, never met,

Or could this heart e'en now forget

How link'd, how bless'd we might have been,

Had fate not frown'd so dark between. . . . Moore.

Now farewell !
Thou that hast been, what words may never tell.

Hemans.

His friends beheld, and pitied him in vain,
For what relief can ease a lover's pain ? .

Darwin.

LUPINE.

Lupinus.

Imagination. Where beams of warm imagination play. . ,

And the wild sparkle of his eye seem'd caught
From high, and lighten'd with electric thought.

Pope.

Byron.
O'er all bright fancy's beamy radiance shone. Ogilvie.

Bright-ey'd fancy hov'ring o'er,
Scatters from her pictur'd urn,
Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn. . Gray.

Do what he will, he cannot realize
Half he conceives — the glorious vision flies.
Go where he may, he cannot hope to find
The truth, the beauty, pictured in his mind.

But beyond

This energy of truth, whose dictates bind
Assenting reason, the benignant sire,
To deck the honour'd paths of just and good,
Has added bright imagination's ray. . . . Akenside.

MAGNOLIA, Swamp.

Magnolia glauca.

Perseverance. Urge your success, deserve a lasting name,

She '11 crown a grateful and a constant flame.

Roscommon-

Glory, like time, progression does require ;
When it does cease t' advance, it does expire.

Earl of Orrery.

Perseverance, dear my lord,
Keeps honour bright. To have done, is to hang
Quite out of fashion, like a rusty nail
In monumental mockery Shaks.

The life of fame is action, understood

That action must be virtuous, great, and good.

Johnson's Clorinda.

This, in the presage of my thoughts that flow

Benevolent to thee, have I proposed ;

And all, we trust, shall be successful to thee.

AZschylus. The Persians.

MARIGOLD.

Calendula.

Cruelty, Love make his heart of flint whom thou shalt love,

And may thy fervour, like my passion, be
Plac'd in contempt ! Farewell, fair cruelty ! . Shaks.

MARVEL OF PERU.
Mirabilis.

And thou, forsworn, thou, cruel as thou art,

If Emma's image ever touch'd thy heart,

Thou sure must give one thought, and drop a tear

To her whom love abandoned to despair. . . Prior.

Timidity. She listen'd with a flitting blush,

With downcast eyes, and modest grace,
For well she knew I could not choose
But gaze upon her face

With easy smiles dispell'd the silent fear
That durst not tell me what I died to hear.

Coleridge.

Prior.

For she was timid as the wintry flower,
That, whiter than the snow it blooms among,
Droops its fair head, submissive to the power
Of every angry blast which sweeps along.

Mrs. Tighe's Psyche.

He is one, with
More of soul in his face, than words on his tongue.

Wordsworth.

MARVEL OF PERU.

(Continued)

Silent when glad ; affectionate, though shy. . Beattie.

The half suppress'd glance of an eye admiring,

The tremulous rays of an evening sky,

The startled fawn from the hunter retiring,

The fluttering light of a taper expiring —

Apt emblems afford of timidity E***t.

MEADOW SAFFRON.

Colchicum autumnal!.

My best days are 'Tis greatly wise to know before we 're told,

past. The melancholy news that we grow old. . . Young,

Nought treads so silent as the foot of time ;

Hence we mistake our autumn for our prime. . same.

We see time's furrows on another's brow. . . same.
Peace and esteem is all that age can boast. . . same.

'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours,
And ask them what report they bore to heaven ;
And how they might have borne more welcome news.
Their answers form what men experience call. same.

Age should

Walk thoughtful on the silent, solemn shore
Of that vast ocean it must sail so soon,
And put good works on board, and wait the wind
That shortly blows us into worlds unknown. . same.

MIGNONETTE.

Reseda odorata.

Your qualities surpass Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.
your loveliness. Pope.

Some forms, though bright, no mortal man can bear,
Some, none resist, though not exceeding fair. Young.

Beauty dwells

There most conspicuous, even in outward shape,
Where dawns the high expression of a mind.

Akenside.

Mind, mind alone, (bear witness, earth and heaven !)
The living fountains in itself contains
• Of beauteous and sublime : here hand in hand,
Sit paramount the graces : here enthron'd,
Celestial Venus, with divinest airs,
Invites the soul to never-fading joy same.

MIGNONETTE.

(Continued.)

There was that in her dark, bright, joyous eyes,

And in the expression of her speaking face,

Where, 'mid the graces, dwelt perpetual smiles —

And the pure light that evermore pours out

From the mind's fountain — that demanded more

Than the cold name of beauty, which may be

The attribute of beings whom no ray

Of intellect illumines, and no charm

Of loveliness invests S. P. C.

Such charms would fix
Inconstancy itself: her unmixed virtues,
Ev'n if her beauty fail'd, would soon subdue
The rebel heart, and you would learn to love her.

Dr. Thomas Franklin's Earl of Warwick.

MIMOSA.
Sensitive Plant.
Mimosa.

Sensitiveness.

I cannot bear that alter'd brow !

My misery can scarce be more complete !

Oh ! would it were my lot,
To be forgetful, as I am forgot ! . . .

. F.

Byron.

Upon my lute there is one string
Broken ; — the chords were drawn too fast ;
My heart is like that string — it tried
Too much, and snapt in twain at last. .

Anon.

MOCK ORANGE. Counterfeit.

Philadelphus coronarius.

You have beguil'd me with a counterfeit,
* * * which being touch'd and tried,
Proves valueless : you are forsworn, forsworn.

Idiots only may be cozen'd twice ;

Once warn'd, is well bewar'd

Now my love is thaw'd ;
Which, like a waxen image 'gainst a fire,
Bears no impression of the thing it was.

Shake.

Dryden.

Shaks.

Moss.

Musci.

Recluse. You subject yourself to solitariness, the sly enemy that

doth most separate man from well doing. Sidney.

In solitude

What happiness ? Who can enjoy alone,
Or, if enjoying, what contentment find ?

Milton.

Moss.

(Continued.)

With none to bless us, none whom we can bless,

None, that with kindred consciousness endued,

If we were not, would seem to smile the less !

This is to be alone ; — this, this is solitude. . Byron.

And say, without our hopes, without our fears,
Without the home that plighted love endears,
Without the smile from partial beauty won,
Oh ! what were man ? — a world without a sun.

Short retirement urges sweet return.

Campbell.

Milton.

MYRTLE.

Myrtus.

Love positive.

I court others in verse, but love thee in prose !
They have my whimsies, but thou hast my heart.

Prior.

, V

On your hand, that pure altar, I vow,

Though I 've looked, and have liked, and have left —

That I never have loved — till now. . . M. G. Lewis.

By those tresses unconfined,
Woo'd by " every gentle" wind ;
By those lids whose jetty fringe
Kiss thy soft cheek's blooming tinge ;
By those wild eyes, like the roe,
Ah ! hear my vow before I go —
My dearest life, I love thee !
Can I cease to love thee ? — no !
Zoe mou s-as agapo

Byron.

Yes, it is love — if thoughts of tenderness,

Tried in temptation, strengthen'd by distress,

Unmov'd by absence, firm in every clime,

And yet — oh, more than all ! — untir'd by time. same.

Answer.
The myrtle bough bids lovers live.

Scott.

NARCISSUS, Poetic.
Narcissus poeticus.

Egotism and self Nor knew, fond youth ! it was himself he lov'd.

Addison's Ovid.

His duty 'tis to love himself alone —

Nor cares, though mankind perish, if he smiles. Young.

And he, the light and vain one, for him there never wakes

That love, for which a woman's heart will beat until it

breaks ........... L. E. L.

The selfish heart deserves the pain it feels. . Young.

NASTURTIUM.
Indian Cress,
Tropceolum major.

A warlike trophy.

In war excelling, as in peace Horace.

This, to the hero, when his sword
Has won the battle for the free —
The thanks of millions yet to be !

Halleck,

Bring flowers, to strew in the conqueror's path —

He hath shaken thrones with his stormy wrath !

He comes with the spoils of nations back ;

The vines lie crush'd in his chariot's track ;

The turf looks red where he won the day;

Bring flowers, to die in the conqueror's way. Hemans.

Crown ye the brave ! crown ye the brave !

As through your streets they ride,

And the sunbeams dance on the polish'd arms

Of the warriors side by side ;

Shower on them your sweetest flowers,

Let the air ring with their praise same.

Answer.

Could deeds my heart discover,
Could valour gain your charms,

I 'd prove myself a lover,
Against a world in arms. . .

Old song.

Most fair ! thus low before you,
A prostrate warrior view,

Whose sole delight and glory
Are centred all in you. . . .

NETTLE.
Urtica.

Slander. V'Tis slander,

Whose edge is sharper than the sword ; whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of Nile. ..... Shaks.

Soft buzzing slander ; silky moths, that eat

An honest name. / Thomson.

The man that dares traduce, because he can

With safety to himself, is not a man., . . . Cowper.

Those who murder fame
Kill more than life destroyers Savage.

^ Slander meets no regard from noble minds ;
Only the base believe, what the base only uttei^.

Heller's Injured Innocence.

NIGHT SHADE.
Solanum Nigrum,
or, Atropa belladonna.

Scepticism.

OAK LEAF.
Quercus.

Bravery.

Ah me ! the laurel'd wreath that murder rears,
Blood-nurs'd and water'd by the widow's tears,
Seems not so foul, so tainted, and so dread,
As waves the night-shade round the sceptic head.

Campbell.

But you are learn'd ; in volumes deep you sit.

Your learning, like the lunar beam, affords
Light, but not heat ; it leaves you undevout,
Frozen at heart, while speculation shines.

Young.

A fugitive from heaven and prayer,
He mock'd at all religious fear,
Deep scienc'd in the mazy lore
Of mad philosophy. . . . Horace. Ode XXXIV.

A foe to God, was ne'er true friend to man. Young.

The manly oak ! the pensive yew,
To patriot, and to sage, be due.

Scott.

And for his meed was brow-bound with the oak.

Shaks.

He comes the third time home with oaken garland.

It is held

That valour is the chiefest virtue, and
Most dignifies the haver : if it be,
The man I speak of, cannot in the world
Be singly counterpoised

Not to the sanguine field alone,

Is valour limited : she sits serene

In the deliberate council, sagely scans

The source of every action ; weighs, prevents, provides,

And scorns to count her glories from the feats

Of brutal force alone Smollet.

By his light,

Did all the chivalry of England move
To do brave acts ; he was indeed the glass
Wherein the noble youth did dress themselves. Shaks.

OATS.

Avena.

Music.

Music resembles poetry : in each

Are nameless graces, which no methods teach,

And which a master's hand alone can reach !

Pope.

OATS.

(Continued.)

At her command the various passions lie ;

She stirs to battle, or she lulls to peace;
Melts the charm'd soul to thrilling ecstasy,

And bids the jarring world's harsh clangour cease.

Oh ! surely melody from heaven was sent,

To cheer the soul when tired with human strife,

To soothe the wayward heart by sorrow rent,
And soften down the rugged road of life.

H. K. White.

Can any mortal mixture of earth's mould

Breathe such divine enchanting ravishment ?

Sure something holy lodges in that breast,

And with these raptures moves the vocal air

To testify his hidden residence Milton-

Who, as they sung, would take the prison'd soul,

And lap it in Elysium same.

OLEANDER.
Rosebay.
Nerium.

Beware !

Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps Shaks.

Timely advised, the coming evil shun ! . . . Prior.

A little fire is quickly trodden out ;

Which being suffer'd, rivers cannot quench. . Shaks.

The better part of valour is discretion. . . . same.

Then fly betimes, for only they

Conquer love, that run away Carew.

My heart ! I told thee what it was to love ;

And now my mother's counsels I approve.

She, on a time, ere set her mortal sun,

As we convers'd where Peneus' waters run,

" Daughter," she said, "t to maidens' heedless hearts

Love's early dawn delicious charms imparts :

With gentle breath the traitor comes at first ;

Then tempests rise, and clouds of sorrow burst.

Would'st thou be well ? whatever form he bear,

He wears his arrows still, and so beware !"

These lessons I remember'd oft and oft,
And when with winning air and accent soft
The shepherd came, his words, his looks were such,
I warn'd thee, heart, not to be pleased so much.
Hadst thou but taken heed, nor answer'd still
It was not love I felt, but mere good will,

OLEANDER.

(Continued.)

Nor idly sported with his lambent fires,
His quiet joys, and innocent desires,
Thou hadst not found, when it was all too late,
The dart of love is often that of fate.

Ah silly, silly heart ! I told thee so ;
But I will school thee yet to hide thy wo.

Holier e. Translated by C***e.

What could I more ?

I warn'd thee, I admonish'd thee, foretold
The danger, and the lurking enemy
That lay in wait Milton.

OLIVE.
Olea.

Peace.

I hold the olive in my hand : my words are as full of
peace, as of matter Shaks.

Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountain.

Sweet peace, who long hath shunn'd my plaintive lay,
Consents at length to bring me short delight. Collins.

If after tempest come such calms,

May the winds blow till they have waken'd death !

Shaks.

* * • * * * welcome as day
After a night of storms, with fairer beams
Returning ; welcome as the liquid lapse
Of fountain to the thirsty traveller.

JEschylus* Agamemnon.

ORANGE BLOSSOM.
Citrus aurantium.

Your purity equals
your loveliness.

Nought can be diviner

Than the blue meaning of those soft spring eyes —
Young, vernal-looking, — filled with vernal life ;
Whose peace surpasscth all we know of strife,
Telling of thoughts all pure and bright within,
Untouched by sorrow, unalloyed by sin. . . . Anon.

There are creatures yet who bless
This earth with so much loveliness,
As if they had escaped the blight,
The first transgression shed o'er all,
And still preserved the souls's pure light,
Undimm'd, unfaded from the fall.
Or were some young bright spirits strayed
From their own far-off world of bliss,
In beauty's loveliest charms array'd,
To make a paradise of this S.P.C.

-4*

ORANGE BLOSSOM.

(Continued.)

No pearl ever lay under Oman's green water,
More pure in its shell than thy spirit in thee.

Moore.

Ox EYE.
Buphthalmum.

Patience.

With patience calm the storm,

While we bethink a means to break it off. . . Shaks.

Ah me ! for aught that ever I could read,

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth. . same.

True lovers have been ever cross'd,

Then let us teach our trial patience ;

Because it is a customary cross,

As due to love, as thoughts, and dreams, and sighs,

Wishes, and tears, poor fancy's followers. . . same.

'Tis hard : but patience must endure,
And soothe the woes it cannot cure.

Horace. Ode XXV.

To bear, is to conquer our fate Campbell.

Answer.

Had it pleas'd Heaven to try me with affliction —
Steep'd me in poverty to the very lips ;
Given to captivity me and my utmost hopes ;
I should have found in some part of my soul

A drop of patience —

But there where I have garner'd up my heart ;
Where either I must live, or bear no life ;
The fountain from the which my current runs,
Or else dries up ; to be discarded thence ! . . Shaks.

Exiled from all my soul holds dear !

Life hath no torture so severe. . . Euripides1 Medea.

Patience says, 'tis past her cure ! Shaks.

PARSLEY.

Apium.

Useful Knowledge.

He ordain'd a lady for his praise,

Generally praiseful; fair and young, and skill'd in
housewiferies Chapman. Iliad.

And ay she wrought her mammy's wark,
And ay she sang sae merrilie ;

The blythest bird upon the bush
Had ne'er a lighter heart than she.

. Burns.

A bonny lass, I will confess,

Is pleasant to the c'e,
But without some better qualities

She's no a lass for me.

PARSLEY.

.

(Continued.)

Answer.

Nocht shall be wanting on my part,
To gather wealth to raise ray shepherd's heart :
Whate'er he wins, I'll guide wi' canny care.

*****
Then I '11 employ wi' pleasure a' my art
To keep him cheerfu' and secure his heart.
At e'en, when he comes weary frae the hill,
I '11 ha'e a' things made ready to his will :
In winter, when he toils through wind an' rain,
A bleezing ingle, an' a clean hearth stane ;
And soon as he flings by his plaid an' staff,
The seething pats be ready to tak afF;
Clean hag-a-bag I'll spread upon his board,
An' serve him with the best we can afford :
Good humour an' white bigonets shall be
Guards to my face, to keep his love for me. Ramsay.

PASSION FLOWER.

Passiflora.

Susceptibility.

•

Young men's love, then, lies,

Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes ? . Shaks.

Love looks not with the eye, but with the mind. same.
This is the wavering love of man Anon.

I knew thee light as foam, that plays the ocean's waves

among.
Gay were we when we met at first, and we parted just

as gay L. E. L.

PEA, Everlasting.
Lathyrus latifolia.

An appointed meeting. Give me the advantage of a brief discourse. . Shaks.

Let us consult together ; beliere me 'tis no time

For dull delay ; 'tis the decisive hour,

And this the very crisis of our fate. Sophocles' Electro.

The sight of lovers feedeth those in love.
Answer.

Shaks.

Come you this afternoon,

To know our pleasure in this case Shaks.

By all the pretty oaths that are not dangerous,

If you come one minute behind your hour,

I will think you the most pathetical break-promise,

And the most hollow lover, that may be chosen

Out of the gross band of the unfaithful. . . . same.

Lovers ever run before the clock same.

Lovers break not hours, except it be

To come before their time same.

•«*•

PEA, Sweet.

Departure.

Lathyrus odoratus.

Parting strikes poor lovers dumb. . t . . Shaks.

And there were sudden partings, such ad press
The life from out young hearts, and choking sighs.

%7-fltt.

And is he gone ? — on sudden solitude

How oft that fearful question will intrude !

'Twas but an instant past — and here he stood ! same.

I '11 think it but a fond conceit ;

It cannot be that thou art gone ! . . . . Coleridge.

Think'st thou that she, whose only light,

In this dim world, from thee hath shone,

Could bear the long and cheerless night,

That must be hers when thou art gone ? . . Moore.

How can I live without thee, how forego

Thy sweet converse and love? Milton.

* * * There is no living, none,

If Bertram be away Shaks.

PEACH BLOSSOM.
Amygdalus persica.

/ am your captive.

I strove not to resist so sweet a flame1,
But gloried in a happy captive's name.
Nor would I now, could love permit, be free !

^Lyttelton.

My heart with love is beating,
Transported by your eyes ;

Alas ! there 's no retreating,
In vain a captive flies.

Old Song.

I ne'er saw excellence in woman-kind

Till now, and yet, discern'd it at the first :

Perfection is discover'd in a moment,

He that ne'er saw the sun before, yet knew him.

Dryden.

There is a nymph whose chains I feel,
And bless the silken fetter

Moore.

There 's a dear charm about her —
'Tis a heart so kind and warm,
Mine would break without her.

Never

Till this moment could I say
Here I fix my choice for ever.

Song.

Still I 'm thy captive, yet my thoughts are free :

To be love's bond-man, is true liberty.! . . Marston.

PENNYROYAL.

Cunila pulegioides,
or, Menthe pulegium.

Flee away! Beware of danger! never stay

Nor linger on one bud too long,
But lightly flutter and away
Before you feel the charm too strong.

Hon. Charles Phipps.

Shun delays, they breed remorse ;
Take thy time, while time is lent thee ;

* * * *

Sober speed is wisdom's leisure,

After wits are dearly bought,

Let thy fore wit guide thy thought.

Robert Southwell, Esq.

Then, Hafed, as thou lov'st me, fly,

I pray thee as thou lov'st me, fly,

East, west, alas ! I care not whether,

So thou art safe. Moore. Lalla Rookh.

Be wise to-day ; 'tis madness to defer.

Young's Night Thoughts.

PEONY.

Pseonia.

Anger. A Frown.

If she do frown, 'tis not in hate of you —

But rather to beget more love in you.

If she do chide, 'tis not to have you gone —

* * * *

Take no repulse, whatever she doth say ;
For, get-you-gonc, she doth not mean away.

Shaks.

PERIWINKLE, Blue. Pleasures of Memory. Still the fond lover views his absent maid. . .Rogers.

Vinca minor.

And, to his eye,
There is but one beloved face on earth^ J . . Byron.

Perish the lover, whose imperfect flame

Forgets one feature of the nymph he lov'd. Shenstone.

What light is light, if Sylvia be not seen ?

What joy'is joy, if Sylvia be not by ?

Unless it be to think that she is by,

And feed upon the shadow of perfection. . . Shakt.

Come, flattering memory ! and tell my heart
How kind she was, and with what pleasing art
She strove its fondest wishes to obtain,
Confirm her power, and faster bind my chain.

Lyttelton.

PERIWINKLE, White. Pleasing reminis- Some little friendship formed, and cherished here.

cences. Rogers.

Vinca minor.

So turn our hearts, where'er we rove,

To those we 've left behind us Moore.

Often, like the evening sun, comes the memory of for-
mer times o'er my soul Ossian.

The memory of joys that are past, is like the music of
Caryl, pleasant and mournful to the soul. . same.

PHLOX.

Phlox.

Unanimity. There are two hearts whose movements thrill

In unison so closely sweet !
That pulse to pulse responsive still,

They both must heave— or cease to beat. . Barton.

There are two souls whose equal flow

In gentle streams so calmly run,
That when they part — they part ! — ah, no !

They cannot part — those souls are one. . . same.

Each was the other's mirror, and but read
Joy sparkling in their dark eyes, like a gem ;

And knew such brightness was but the reflection
Of their exchanging glances of affection. . Byron.

Oh ! happy, happy lovers !
Happy youth, and happy maid —
When tremblingly each heart discovers
All its love by love repaid

Old Song.

PINE, Black Spruce Fir.

Pinus nigra.

Pitv. A crown of pine upon his head he wore ;

And thus began her pity to implore. . Dryden's Ovid.

Is there no pity sitting in the clouds,
That sees into the bottom of my grief? . .

Where first my shipwreck'd heart was lost,

I may once more repeat my pain ;

Once more in dying notes complain

Of slighted vow sand cold disdain

Shaks.

Prior.

As love can exquisitely bless,

Love only feels the marvellous of pain ;

Opens new views of torture in the soul,

And wakes the nerve where agonies are born. Smollet.

PINE, Black Spruce Fir.

(Continued.)

Let soft compassion touch your gentle mind.

Pope's Ovid.

Can a bosom so gentle remain
Unmov'd, when her Corydon sighs ? . . . Shenstone.

Could my griefs speak, the tale would have no end.

Otway.

Answer.

Your cause doth strike my heart

With pity Shaks.

And pity still foreruns approaching love,

As lightning does the thunder Dryden.

Love was in the next degree :
'Twas but a kindred sound to move,
For pity melts the mmd to love same.

PINE, Pitch.
P. rigida.

Time and philosophy.

So subtle, and so swift I fly,
Love 's not more fugitive than I !

Gay.

Youth is not rich in time ; it may be poor.

Part with it as with money, sparingly; pay

No moment, but in purchase of its worth;

And what its worth, ask death-beds ; they can tell.

Part with it as with life, reluctant ; big

With holy hope of nobler time to come. . . Young.

Time's use was doom'd a pleasure, waste, a pain-
That man might feel his error if unseen,
And feeling, fly to labour for his cure ;
Not blund'ring split on idleness for ease.
Life's cares are comforts ; such by Heaven designed ;
He that hath none, must make them, or be wretched.

same.

Time, which all things else removes,

Still heightens virtue and improves Gay.

PINE, Spruce ;

or, Norway Spruce Fir.
Pinus abies.

Farewell ! Farewell ! whatever be my lot,

While feeling burns within my breast,
Although by thee, perhaps, forgot,
On thee remembrance oft will rest.

In pleasure's time, my heart will say,

Though brightly move these moments by-
Yet far less bright and bless'd are they,
Than those I knew when thou wert nigh.

PINE, Spruce.

(Continued.)

And oft in sorrow's lonely hour,

Thy memory on my soul will steal,
Like music's strain, with magic power

To chase away each thought of ill. :

Farewell ! may sorrow never thrill

That breast, where truth and peace reside,

But unprofaned by anguish still,

May all thy hours in sweetness glide.

R. R*****l.

Farewell ! for I must leave thee,
I weep my last adieu. . . .

Song.

Farewell ! — In that word — that fatal word — howe'er
We promise — hope — believe — there breathes despair.

Byron.

PINK, The Carnation.

Dianthus caryophyllus.

Woman's love. Yes, woman's love is free from guile,

And pure as bright Aurora's ray. . . G. P. Morris.

fo,

Oh ! where on the earth is the truth that may vie,
With woman's love and long constancy ?
Absence but makes her love the more,
For her thoughts then feed on their own sweet store.
And is not hers the heart alone

That hath pleasure and pride, in a prize, when won 1 \

L. E>L.

Alas, the love of woman ! it is known
To be a lovely and a fearful thing ;
For all of theirs upon that die is thrown,
And if 'tis lost, life has no more to bring
To them, but mockeries of the past alone.

. Byron.

It is a fearful thing

To love as I love thee ; to feel the world —
The bright, the beautiful, joy-giving world —
A blank without thee. Never more to me
Can hope, joy, fear, wear different seeming. Now,
I have no hope that does not dream for thee ;
I have no joy, that is not shared by thee ;
I have no fear, that does not dread for thee.
All that I once took pleasure in — my lute,
Is only sweet when it repeats thy name ;
My flowers, I only gather them for thee ;
The book drops listless down, I cannot read,
Unless it is to thee ; my lonely hours
Are spent in shaping forth our future lives,
After my own romantic fantasies.
He is the star round which my thoughts revolve

Like satellites L. E. L.

The Ancestress.

PINK, Indian, single.
Dianthus chinensis.

Aversion. Shall I go on? — Or have I said enough ? . . Milton.

Repulse upon repulse, met ever —

Yet gives not o'er, though desperate of success, same.

Whose love-suit hath been to me as fearful as a siege.

Shaks.

Wi' curling lip, and scornful een,

She listened to all he said —
While the moon look'd down, and the twinkling sheen

Of the stars is over them shed.
My heart is wae for the luckless knight,

His vows are scattered in air,
For pitiless is his lady bright,

And his prayer is a bootless prayer.

Go, speak not to me ; even now begone.

Do I not in plainest truth
Tell you — I do not, nor I cannot love you ?

He might have took his answer long ago. .

S. P. C.

Shaks.

PINK, Mountain.

Dianthus ceesius.

Aspiring. Fain would I climb-
But that I fear to fall Sir W. Raleigh.

Answer.

If you do fear —

Then do not climb at all ! . . . . Queen Elizabeth.

Who has assay'd no danger, gains no praise. . Prior.

The wise and active conquer difficulties

By daring to attempt them Rowe.

And fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns. Shaks.

Our doubts are traitors —
And make us lose, by fearing to attempt,

The good we oft might win. . . same.

Thou wilt not take the trouble to be blest. . Young.

PINK, Red, double.
Dianthus rubeus.

Pure and ardent
love.

He loves you with such a pure and holy fire

As will not, cannot, but with life expire ! . . Dryden.

Thou loved beyond what verse or speech can tell !

Beattie.

PINK, Red, double.

(Continued.)

I will send the pink, the emblem of my dear,
For she 's the pink of womankind, and blooms without
a peer Burns.

'Tis a token of all the heart can keep

Of holy love, in its fountain deep Anon.

This pink is one of Cupid's carriers Shaks.

Oh, tell her that my virtuous flame

Is, as her spotless soul, refin'd. . . Thomson. Song.

PINK, Variegated.
Dianthus variegatus.

Refusal. Too much, Alexis, I have heard —

But you shall promise, ne'er again
To breathe your vows, or speak your pain. . . Prior.

(Take my esteem, if you on that can live ;
Fdr frankly, sir, 'tis all I have to give. . . Dryden.

It is not virtue, wisdom, valour, wit,

Strength, comeliness of shape, or amplest merit,

That woman's love can win. * * *

But what it is, hard is to say, harder to hit. . Milton.

PINK, White. Ingenuousness.

Dianthus albus.

Whate'er the emotions of her heart,
Still shone conspicuous in her eyes —

Stranger to every female art,

Alike to feign, or to disguise. . .

Heart on her lips, and soul within her eyes.

Shaw.
. Byron.

If tenderness touch'd her, the dark of her eye
At once took a darker, a heavenlier dye,
From the depth of whose shadow, like holy revealings
From the innermost shrine, came the light of her feelings.

Moore.

Each beauty of her mind and face,
Was brighten'd by some sweet peculiar grace !
How eloquent in every look —

Through her expressive eyes, her soul distinctly spoke.

Lyttelton.

And the soft language of the soul

Flow'd from her never-silent eye. . . . Cartwright.

PLEURISY ROOT ; Cure for the heart- The miserable have no other medicine, but only hope.

ache. Shaks.

or, Swallow Wort.

Hope, heaven-born cherub, still appears,

Asclepias. Howe'er misfortune seems to lower :

Her smile the threat'ning tempest clears,
And is the rainbow of the shower Anon.

Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie Shaks.

Wise men ne'er sit and wail their loss,

But cheerly seek how to redress their harms. . same.

You may be pleased to catch at my intent. . . same.

POLYANTHOS, Lilac Coloured. Confidence. Be as just and gracious unto me,

As I am confident and kind to thee same.

Primula.

Let mutual joys our mutual trust combine,

And love, and love-born confidence, be thine ! Dryden.

Thou knowest how fearless is my trust in thee.

L. E. L.

POLYANTHOS, The hearts mystery. The love-sick cowslip that head inclines

Crimson heart. To hide a bleeding heart Hurdis.

Primula. The rath primrose that forsaken dies.

Milton's Lycidas.

The heart hath its mystery, and who may reveal it ;
Or who ever read in the depths of their own,
How much we never may speak of, yet feel it,
But even in feeling it, know it unknown ? . L. E. L.

A Night in May.

* * * * None knew
If she had loved ; but always did her song
Dwell on love's sorrow —

She had a strange sweet voice, the maid who sang —
" Sleep, heart of mine —
Why should love awake thee ?
Like yon closed rose-bud,
To thy rest betake thee.

Waken, heart, of mine !

From such dangerous sleeping ;

Love's haunted visions

Ever end in weeping." L. E. L.

The Ancestress.

POLYANTHOS.

(Continued.)

How light was thy heart till love's witchery came,
Like the wind of the south* o'er a summer lute blowing,
And hush'd all its music, and wither'd its frame.

Moore.

POMEGRANATE, Flower. Mature and Impatient nature had taught motion

finished elegance. To start from tin»i and> cheerfully, to fly
Punica. Before, and seize upon maturity Crashaw.

Mature she was —
Grace shap'd her limbs, and beauty deck'd her face.

Prior.

Sylvia 's like autumn ripe, yet mild as May,

More bright than noon, yet fresh as early day. . Gay.

Time's wing but seem'd, in stealing o'er,

To leave her lovelier than before Moore.

POPPY, Red.

Papaver rhaeas.

Consolation. Exalt thy love-dejected heart ;

Be mine the task, or e'er we part,
To make thee grief resign. . .

. Parnell.

Pray you be comforted ;
I will pour balm into thy bleeding wounds,
And heal them up for ever. . . . Geo. Coleman, Jr.

Mountaineers.

Be of good cheer ; all will go well.

Byron.

POPPY, White. My bane ! My antidote ! Doom'd to heal — or doom'd to kill,

Fraught with good — or fraught with ill. Mrs. Robinson.
P. somniferum.

'Tis you, alone, can save, or give my doom. . . Ovid.

On you, most lov'd, with anxious fear I wait,
And from your judgment must expect my fate.

Addison.

On you my eyes are turn'd, on you depends
My fate, with prosperous fortune to be blest,

Or to be nothing . Euripides.

Ip/iigenia in Tauris.

Now on the doubtful edge

Of black despair I stand, or joyful light. JEschylus.

The Furies.

Note.—* The Samoor wind so softens the strings of the lute, that
they can never be tuned while it lasts.— Stephens' Persia.

PRIDE OF CHINA.
Melia azedarach.

Dissension. Alas •' how light a cause may move

Dissension, between hearts that love !

A something, light as air — a look,
A word unkind, or wrongly taken —
Oh ! love, that tempest never shook,
A breath, a touch like this, hath shaken.

Moore.

Answer.

Though light cause may move
Dissensions between hearts that love,
Is it not true, a cause as light,
May sever'd hearts again unite
In truer, kindlier, harmony,

Than felt before ? ,

Anon.

PRIMROSE, Evening.

CEnothera.

Inconstancy. Is there, kind heaven ! no constancy in man ?

No steadfast truth, no generous fixed affection,
That can bear up against a selfish world ?
No, there is none.

Thomson's Tancred and Sigismunda.

Were man

But constant, he were perfect : that one error
Fills him with faults ; makes him run through all sins :
Inconstancy falls off, ere it begins same.

Oh ! swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon,

That monthly changes in her circled orb,1

Lest that thy love prove, likewise, variable. Shaks.

PRIMROSE, Rose coloured. Unpatronised Be thou the first true merit to befriend,

Primula.

merit. His praise is lost who waits till all commend. . Pope.

Ah me ! full sorely is my heart forlorn,
To think how modest worth neglected lies ;
While partial fame doth with her blasts adorn
Such deeds alone, as pride and pomp disguise,
Deeds of ill sort, and mischievous emprise.

Shenstone.

But own I must, in this perverted age,
Who most deserve, can't always most engage ;
So far is worth from making glory sure,
It often hinders what it should procure. . •

Young.

UnrivalPd as thy merit, be thy fame !

Tickell.

f

PRIVET.

Ligustrum.

Mildness.

With a spirit as meek, as the gentlest of those
Who in life's sunny valley lie shelter'd and warm.

Moore.

She was a soft landscape of mild earth,
Where all was harmony, and calm and quiet,
Luxuriant, budding. Byron.

% .

Whose heavenly mind,

Genius, with virtue; strength, with softness join' d —
With meek simplicity, and joy of heart;
Though sprightly, gentle; though polite, sincere ;
And only of thyself a judge severe. . . . Beattie.

Of manners gentle, of affections mild,

In wit, a man — simplicity, a child Pope.

He, whose gentle breast
In nature's softest mould was made. . . Langhorne,

QUAMOCLIT.
Ipomoea.

Busy body. Busy bodies and intermeddlers, are a dangerous sort

of people to have to do withal. L1 Estrange.

Answer.

Because I take an interest in other people's business,
I 'rn hubb'd, and scrubb'd, and rubb'd, and drubb'd,

Until I feel a dizziness ;
Which makes me vow, 1 '11 never do a kind or worthy

action,
For whatso'er I meddle in, I ne'er give satisfaction.

Poor Paul Pry ! !

QUEEN'S ROCKET ;
or, Dame's Violet.
Hesperis matronalis.

You are the queen ^ike kings, we l°se tne conquests gain'd before,

of coquettes ^ vam amt"tion still to make them more. . Pope.

Their smiles, the great, and the coquette, throw out

For other hearts, tenacious of their own :

And we no less of ours, when such the bait. . Young.

The vain coquette each suit disdains,
And glories in her lover's pains —
With age she fades, each lover flies,
Contemn'd, forlorn, she pines and dies.

. . Gay.

RAGGED ROBIN ;
or, Meadow Lychnis.
Flos cuculi.

Wit.

With Cupid's arrow, she hath Dian's wit. . . Shaks.
Her words do show her wit incomparably. . . same.

With her mien she enamours the brave;

With her wit she engages the free ;

With her modesty pleases the grave ;

She is every way pleasing to me. . . . Shenstone.

Illum'd by a wit that would fascinate sages,
Yet playful as Peris just loos'd from their cages.

Moore.

My heart would you hit,
Tip your arrow with wit,
And it comes to my heart with a twang.
I am rock to the handsome and pretty,
Can only be touch'd by the witty ;
And beauty will ogle in vain :
The way to my heart 's through my brain. . Garric.k.

RANUNCULUS.
Ranunculus.

/ am dazzled by your
charms.

Bright as the sun, her eyes the gazers strike. . Pope.

Who sees the heavenly Rosaline,
That, like a rude and savage man of Inde,
At the first opening of the gorgeous east,
Bows not his vassal head, and, strucken blind,
Kisses the base ground with obedient breath ? Shaks.

Oh, I have known a brighter charm
Than Flora's region e'er contain'd —
A piercing radiance that could warm
The heart which never beauty claim'd.

And this was in a maiden's face,
Where mantled beauty's gayest dress ;
She was so sweet — so wildly fair,
Methought perfection centr'd there S**n.

ROCKET.

Hesperis.

Rivalry.

Oh, love ! thou sternly dost thy power maintain,

And wilt not bear a rival in thy reign,

Tyrants and thee all fellowship disdain. . . Dryden.

Love, well thou know'st, no partnership allows ;
Cupid, averse, rejects divided vows Prior.

Friendship is constant in all other things,

Saving the office and affairs of love :

Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues,

And trust no agent; for beauty is a witch

Against whose charms faith melteth into blood. Shaks.

ROCKET.

(Continued.)

I saw them, hand in hand, walk o'er the mead :
Would my closed eye had sunk in endless night,
Ere I was doom'd to bear that hateful sight !
Where'er they pass'd, be blasted every flower !

Lyttelton.

Say, thou inconstant, what has Damon done,

To lose the heart his tedious pains had won ?

Tell me what you in my rival find,

Against whose power no ties have strength to bind ?

Has he, like me, with long obedience, strove

To conquer your disdain, arid merit love ?

Has he, with transport, every smile ador'd,

And died with grief at each ungentle word?

Ah, no ! the conquest was obtain'd with ease ;

He pleased you, by not studying to please :

His careless indolence your pride alarm'd ;

And had he lov'd you more, he less had charm'd.

Lyttelton.

ROSE, Austrian.
Rosa bicolor.

Thou art all that
lovely.

Bright as the blush of rising morn !

Light as the angel shapes that bless
An infant's dream, yet not the less
Rich in all woman's loveliness .

Darwin.

Moore.

Loveliest of women ! Heaven is in thy soul ;
Beauty and virtue shine for ever round thee,
Brightening each other ! Thou art all divine. Addison.

Thou art so fair, so excellently fram'd,

There is such mind in thy soul-breathing eye,

As if its pure home in heaven it claimed,

And thence alone could draw its witchery ;

Thy voice hath such a soothing melody,

And on thy lightest thought such magic plays,

Like a bright fountain on the gladden'd sky —

Methinks, as on thy perfect form I gaze,

In peace should be thy paths, in pleasantness thy ways.

C.M.

ROSE, Bridal ; Happy love.

or, Rose-leaved Bramble.
Rubus rossefolius.

" To feel that we adore, to such refined excess,
That though the heart would break with more,

It could not do with less. .\ . . . . Moore.

My soul hath her content so absolute,
That not another comfort like to this,
Succeeds in unknown fate, .

Shaks.

"**

ROSE.

(Continued.}

Thou art more happy, Oh, my soul ! than speech
Knows to express : what shall I say, 'tis all
Surpassing wonder and the power of words. Euripides.

Iphigenia in Taurus.

She is mine own :

And I as rich in having such a jewel,
As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearls,
The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold. . . S/iaks.

My true love is grown to such excess,

I cannot sum up half my sum of wealth. . . . same.

There 's beggary in love that can be reckon'd. . same.

Bring flowers, fresh flowers, for the bride to wear !
They were born to blush in her shining hair.
Bring flowers, for the locks of the fair young bride.

Hetnans.

ROSE, Burgundy.

Rosa parbifolia.

Unconscious beauty. Doubts the beauty, which she doubts alone,

Which dazzles every eye, except her own. . . Hayley.

Around her shone
The nameless charmr-, unmark'd by her alone. Byron.

O'er her warm cheek the blush of beauty swims.

Shaks.

The bloom that open'd on her face

Well seem'd the emblem of her mind,

Where snowy innocence we trace,

With blushing modesty combin'd. . . . Cartwright.

ROSE, Cabbage.
Rosa capitatum.

The ambassador of
love.

Go, fragrant rose, and deck the lovely breast
Of her whose image ever dwells in mine,

And in thy fair abode supremely blest,
With balmy sweets repay the bliss divine.

Go, rose — my Chloe's bosom grace —

How happy should I prove,
Might I supply that envied place,

With never-fading love !

Anon.

Gay.

Answer.

Yet I have not seen

So likely an ambassador of love :

A day in April never came so sweet,

To show how costly summer was at hand,

As this fore-spurrer comes before his lord.

. SJiaks.

-4-

-fc

•

-•*•

ROSE, Daily.

Rosa quotidiana.

That smile I would
aspire to !

Smiling she seem'd, and full of pleasing thought.

Dryden.

The pleasant hour
Only wants thy smile to bless it Anon.

Who will, may pant for glory and excel,

Her smile liis aim, all higher aims farewell ! . Cowper.

Oh ! let me only breathe the air,

The blessed air, that 's breath'd by thee,

And whether on its wings it bear

Healing, or death, 'tis sweet to me Moore.

Smiles from reason flow — and are of love the food.

Milton.
Answer.

Know, smiler, at thy peril thou art pleas'd,
Thy pleasure is the promise of thy pain,
The fancied med'cine heightens the disease. Young.

ROSE, Damask.
Rosa damascena.

Freshness. Fresh as the morn, and as the season fair ! . . Pope.

Your lips disclose
The freshness of the op'ning rose ;
Your cheeks are beds of flowers,
Enripen'd by refreshing showers Gay.

Her cheek was fresher than the morning rose

When the dew wets its leaves Thomson,

Sweet are the charms of her I love,

More fragrant than the damask rose,

Soft as the down of turtle dove,

Gentle as air when zephyr blows,

Refreshing as descending rains

To sun-burnt climes, and thirsty plains. . . Booth.

ROSE, Deep red.

Bashful shame. ^ have marked a thousand blushing apparitions

To start into her face ; a thousand innocent shames
In angel whiteness bear away those blushes. Shaks.

From every blush that kindles in thy cheeks,

Ten thousand little loves and graces spring

To revel in the roses Rowe.

The crimson glow of modesty o'erspread

Her cheek, and gave new lustre to her charms.

Dr. Thos. Franklin.

Still, from the sweet confusion, some new grace
Blush'd out by stealth, and languish'd in her face.

Eusden's Ovid.

So sweet the blush of bashfulness,

Even pity scarce can wish it less ! . . . . Byron.

til

ROSE, Hundred leaved.
Rosa centifolia.

Pride, I will instruct my sorrow to be proud,

For grief is proud, and makes his owner stout. Stiaks.

Answer.
Yet less of sorrow than of pride was there. . Byron.

Rejoinder.

Ah ! little will the lip reveal

Of all the burning heart can feel L. E, L.

How much of pride, that never eye

May look upon its agony same.

ROSE, Maidens' Blush. If you do love me, I do betray myself with blushing ! .... Shaks.

you will Jind me out.
Rosa rubor virginea. Confusion thrill'd me then, and secret joy,

Fast throbbing, stole its treasures from my heart,
And mantling upward, turn'd my face to crimson.

Brooke's Gustavus Vasa.

I blush to think what I have said —

But fate has wrested the confession from me.

Go on, and prosper in the paths of honour :

Thy virtue will excuse my passion for thee,

And make the gods propitious to our love. . Addison.

And yet, what need I blush at such a choice ?

I love a man whom I am proud to love. . . Dryden.

ROSE, Moss, full blown. Superior merit. Behold the first in virtue, as in face !

In praise so just, let every voice be raised. . .

Rosa muscosa.

Oh ! what perfections must that virgin share,

Who fairest is esteem'd, where all are fair ! . Prior.

The virtuous Marcia towers above her sex :

True she is fair — oh, how divinely fair !

But still the lovely maid improves her charms

With inward greatness, unaffected wisdom,

And sanctity of manners. Cato's soul

Shines out in every thing she acts and speaks ;

While winning mildness and attractive smiles

Dwell in her looks. Addison.

She is one

For whom a life were a small sacrifice,
Aye, to be deemed as nothing !

. S.P.C.

How could my tongue
Take pleasure, and be lavish in thy praise !

ROSE.

(Continued.)

How could I speak thy nobleness of nature !
Thy open, manly heart, thy courage, constancy,
And inborn truth, unknowing to dissemble !

And, in a word, (for far behind his worth
Come all the praises that I can bestow,)
He is complete in feature and in mind,
With all good grace to grace a gentleman.

He is worthy for an empress' love,
As meet to be an emperor's counsellor.

Rowe.

. Shaks.

ROSE-BUD, Moss.

Rosa muscosa.

Confession. Well did I mark the new-born passion grow,

Which my heart beat responsive at perceiving.

A. Sketon.
I know not why

I love this youth ; and I have heard you say,
Love's reason 's without reason Shaks.

As letters some hand has invisibly trac'd,

When held to the flame will steal out to the sight ;

So, many a feeling that long seem'd effac'd,

The warmth of a meeting like this brings to light.

Moore.

Answer.

A light comes o'er me from those looks of love,
Like the first dawn of mercy from above. . . same.

In the mild eyes that shone before him,

Beaming that blest assurance, worth

AD other transports known on earth,

That he was loved —

Oh ! in this precious hour he prov'd

How deep, how thorough-felt the glow

Of rapture, kindling out of wo. same.

ROSE, Multiflora. Grace.

R. M.
or, Bramble, flowered Chinese Rose.

Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye,

In every gesture dignity and love Milton.

Heavens ! with what grace she mov'd,
Who could have seen her then, and not have lov'd ?

Ly Helton.

With smooth step
Disclosing motion in its every charm. . . Thomson.

Each look, each motion, wak'd a new-born grace,
That o'er her form its transient glory cast. . Mason.

ROSE, Multiflora.

(Continued.)

All the wonders of external grace,
A person finely turn'd, a mould, a face,
Where, union rare, expression's lively force,
With beauty's softest magic holds discourse,

Attract the eye,
Rouse the quick passions, and inflame the heart.

Churchill.

Melinda ! formed with every grace complete,
Yet these neglecting, above beauty wise. Thomson.

ROSE, Mundi.
Rosa Tersicolor.

Variety.

Skilled alike to dazzle and to please. . . . Rogers.

Each look, each motion, waked a new-born grace,

That o'er her form its transient glory cast.
Some lovelier wonder soon usurped the place,
Chas'd by a charm still lovelier than the last.

Mason.

That loveliness, ever in motion, which plays
Like the light upon autumn's soft shadowy days,
Now here, and now there, giving warmth as it flies
From the lips to the cheek, from the cheek to the eyes —
Now melting in rnist, and now breaking in gleams ;
Like the glimpses a saint hath of heav'n in his dreams.

Moore.

She stood as stands a rainbow in a storm,
Changing its hue with bright variety,
But still expanding lovelier o'er the sky,
Howe'er its arch may swell, its colours move,

The cloud-compelling harbinger of love.

As sun-shine dwells upon the summer wave,
Changing for ever, yet for ever bright.

New beauties rise with each revolving day.

Byron.

S. P. C.

Thomson.

ROSE, Musk cluster.
Rosa muschata.

Charming.

Where the power that charms us so,
In the soul, or in the eye ? . .

Behold a nymph with ev'ry virtue graced,
Minerva's head on Venus' shoulders placed !
Here's beauty, mental, moral, and divine,
To charm the lover, and his thoughts refine.

Waller.

Anon.

What 's female beauty, but an air divine,

Through which the mind's all gentle graces shine ?

They, like the sun, irradiate all between,

The body charms, because the soul is seen. Young.

With artless grace, and native ease she charms.

Darwin.

ROSE, Musk cluster.

(Continued.)

Who can resist her charms ? Young.

Oh, he was all made up oflove and charms :

Whatever maid could wish, or man admire ;

Delight of every eye; when he appear'd,

A secret pleasure gladden'd all that saw him ;

But, when he talk'd, the proudest Roman blush'd

To hear his virtues, and old age grew wise. Addison,

ROSE-BUD, Red.
Rosa rubrifolia.

You are young and
beautiful.

She 's young and fair —
In these, to nature she 's immediate heir. . . Shaks.

Young as beautiful ! and soft as young !

And gay as soft ! and innocent as gay !

And happy [if aught happy here] as good ! Young.

In youth's fresh bloom with beauty crown'd.

jEschylus1 Agamemnon.

Fair, lovely maiden — young and affable,
More clear of hue, and far more beautiful
Than precious sardonix, or purple rocks
Of amethyst, or glistering hyacinth. . .

Shaks.

Eternal youth

O'er all her form its glowing honours breath'd,
And smiles eternal from her candid eyes
Flow'd like the dewy lustre of the morn,
Effusive trembling on the placid waves. . Akenside.

Oh ! would that life were ever thus
As beautiful and gay

. . W.B.G.

ROSE, Red, full blown.

Rosa rubrifolia.

Beauty. Oh beauty ! till now I never knew thee. . . . Shaks.

Lady, thy lofty brow is fair,

Beauty's sign and seal are there.

And thy lip is like the rose,

Closing round the bee's repose. . . S. T. Lawrence.

The faultless form,

Shap'd by the hand of harmony ; the cheek
Where the live crimson, through the native white
Soft-shooting, o'er the face diffuses bloom,
And every nameless grace ; the parted lip,
Like the red rose-bud, moist with morning dew,
Breathing delight ; * * * *
The look resistless, piercing to the soul,
And, by the soul inforrn'd, when, drest in love,
She sits high-smiling in the conscious eye. Thomson.

ROSE, Red. The brightness ofher cheek would shame the stars,

As daylight doth a lamp ! her eye in heaven
(Continued.) Would through the airy region stream so bright,

That birds would sing, and think it were not night.

Shaks.

ROSE, Unique. Call me not beautiful\ Since that my beauty cannot please his eye,

Rosa unica.

I '11 weep what 's left away, and weeping, die. f Shaks.

How sweetly could I lay my head

Within the cold grave's silent breast,

Where sorrow's tears no more are shed. . . Moore.

Would I could die — * * — and be at peace !
These torments in the quiet grave would cease.
There, my vex'd thoughts a calm repose would find.

Lyttelton.

When will heaven, its silent bell ringing,

Call my spirit from this stormy world ? . . Moore.

ROSE-BUD, White. A heart that is Mine, is the freedom of the soul,

ignorant of love. &**& mine, the unconquer'd will Dale.

Rosa alba.

Do not disturb our calm, oh love ! .... Moore.

-:, By love, the young and tender wit
Is turn'd to folly ; blasting in the bud,
Losing his verdure even in the prime,
And all the fair effects of future hopes. . . . Shaks.

No — let me be
" In maiden meditation, fancy free !" ... same.

All its joys and pains to others I resign,

Be the vacant heart, the careless bosom, mine ! Moore.

From love's weak childish vow I live unharm'd.

Shaks.

ROSE, White. I am worthy of you. By all this heart hath borne for thee,

By all it suffers now Anon.

Rosa alba.

My sufferings for you make your heart my due.

Dryden.

Take then this flower —

The perfume of its faded leaves, triumphant o'er decay,

May whisper of my changeless love, when I have pass'd

away Anon.

ROSE, White Transient impressions. What speaks the pale and drooping flower?

and withered. Of joy that withers in an hour ! .... T. Dale.

Quickly wither'd like your love away. . . . Anon.

Love, hitherto a transient guest,

Ne'er held possession in his breast. .... Swift.

Lightly won, and lightly lost, love, I shed no tears for

thee ;
There was little to remember, and nothing to regret.

L. E. L.

I have no parting sigh to give,

So take my parting smile same.

ROSE, without a thorn.

Rosa inermis.

Ingratitude.

If there be a crime

Of deeper dye than all the guilty train
Of human vices, 'tis — ingratitude.

Dr. Thomas Franklin's Earl of Warwick.

How oft does seeming worth, that thornless rose,
Caress'd and nurtured by affection's hand,
Shoot out ingratitude's rough thorns, and wound
The gentle hand that tends it S. P. C.

Ah, me ! how oft does goodness wound itself,
And sweet affection prove the spring of wo.

Shake.

ROSE, Yellow.

Yellow Sweet Briar.

Rosa lutea.

The decrease of love, Tne warmest love may sink by slow decay
on belter acquaintance.

Byron.

For several virtues, I have liked several women ;
Never any with so full soul, but some defect in her
Did quarrel with the noblest grace she ow'd,
And put it to the foil Shaks.

ROSE, York and Lancaster.

Rosa versicolor.

War. Such war of white and red within her cheeks. Shaks.

./*

There is a white cloud o'er the moon, its form

Is very light, and yet there sleeps the storm ;

It is an omen, it may tell the fate

Of love known all too soon, repented all too late.

Thomson's Masquerade.

A chase of idle hopes and fears,
Begun in folly, closed in tears.

The beacon sign of inward strife,
Was that cheek's flushing red.

Byron.

. . L.E.L.

ROSE, York and Lancaster.

(Continued,)

That proud heart had been given to one
Who sought it not to win —

And now she only strove to hide

The burning shame within. . . .

. L. E.L.

ROSE, Campion.
Agrostemma.

Only deserve my love. Our hearts ne'er bow but to superior worth ;
And never fail of their allegiance there.

Young.

The soul of music slumbers in the shell,

Till waked and kindled by the master spell ;

And feeling hearts — touch them but lightly, pour

A thousand melodies unheard before. . . . Rovers.

My love is thine to teach ; teach it but how,
And thou shall see how apt it is to learn
Any hard lesson that may do thee good.

Skaks.

ROSEMARY.
Rosmarinus officinalis.

Keep this remembrance for thy Julia's sake. . S/iaks.

She sent him rosemary, to the intent that he should hold
her in remembrance Draylon.

Answer*

She placed it sad, with needless fear,
Lest time should shake my wavering soul —
Unconscious that her image there
Held every sense in fast control. . . .

Byron.

Oh ! only those

Whose souls have felt this one idolatry,
Can tell how precious is the slightest thing
Affection gives and hallows ! A dead flower
Will long be kept, remembrancer of looks
That made each leaf a treasure. ....
•/ I

L. E. L.

RUE.

Ruta graveolens.

Disdain. She I love, or laughs at all my pain,

Or knows her worth too well, and pays me with disdain.

Dry den.

Disdain and scorn ride sparkling in her eyes,
Misprizing what they look upon Shaks.

Oh ! to be in love, where scorn is bought with groans ; coy

looks

With heart-sore sighs; one fading moment's mirth,
With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights ! same.

Answer.

Can this be true ?

Stand I condemn'd for pride and scorn so much ?
Contempt, farewell ! and, maiden pride, adieu !
No glory lives behind the back of such.

RUE.

(Continued.)

And, Benedict, love on, I will requite thee,
Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand ;
For others say thou dost deserve, and I
Believe it better than reportingly. . .

Shake.

SAGE. Domestic Virtues.

Salvia officinalis.

Nothing lovelier can be found
In woman, than to study household good ;
And good works in her husband to promote.

Milton.

A woman's noblest station is retreat :
Her fairest virtues fly from public sight ;
Domestic worth — that shuns too strong a light.

Lyttelton.

Domestic happiness, thou only bliss
Of paradise, that hast surviv'd the fall !
* * * *

Thou art the nurse of virtue ; in thine arms
She smiles, appearing, as in truth she is,
Heav'n-born, and destin'd to the skies again. Cowper.

' To give society its highest taste ;
Well-order'd home man's best delight to make ;
And, by submissive wisdom, modest skill,
With every gentle, care-deluding art,
To raise the virtues, animate the bliss,
And sweeten all the toils of human life :
This be the female dignity and praise. . . Thomson.

I 've heard my honest uncle often say,

That lads should a' for wives that 's virtuous pray ;

For the maist thrifty man could never get

A weel-stor'd room, unless his wife wad let.

Allan Ramsay.

SCABIOUS,
Dark purple.

Scabiosa atro-purpurea.

Unfortunate attach-
ment.

Oh, love ! how are thy precious, sweetest moments
Thus ever cross'd, thus vex'd with disappointments !

Rowe's Ulysses.

Such is the posie love composes ;
A stinging nettle mixed with roses Brown.

Have blissful thoughts allur'd thee on,
And faded when most fair ?

The look — the tone of bliss is gone, —
Love has been there

T. Bayley.

The maid that loves,
Goes out to sea upon a shattered plank,
And puts her trust in miracles for safety.

Young.

Ah, Zelica ! there was a time when bliss
Shone o'er thy heart from every look of his ;
When but to see him, hear him, breathe the air
In which he dwelt, was thy soul's fondest prayer !

SCABIOUS.

(Continued.)

When round him hung such a perpetual spell,
Whate'er he did, none ever did so well.
Too happy days ! when, if he touch'd a flower
Or gem of thine, 'twas sacred from that hour ;
When thou didst study him, till every tone,
And gesture, and dear look, became thy own.

Moore.

SCARLET LYCHNIS.
Lychnis chalcedonica.

X-

Sun-beamed eyes. Her glance, how wildly beautiful/. .

Soul beam'd forth in every spark
That darted from beneath the lid,
Bright as the jewel of Giamschid. . .

Byron.

In her two eyes two living lamps did flame,

Kindled above, at the heavenly light,

And darting fiery beams out of tho same,

So passing pearceant, and so wondrous bright,

That quite bereav'd the rash beholders of their sight.

Spencer.

And then her look — Oh, where 's the heart so wise,
Could, unbewilder'd, meet those matchless eyes ?
Quick, restless, strange, but exquisite withal,

Like those of angels Moore.

/
So by thy bright eye's glowing beam,

I court, as it were, my undoing ;
And although but to torture they gleam,

I knowingly rush to my ruin tame.

J
Thus the moth round a tremulous light,

With quivering wing still will turn,
And merely because it is bright,

Although once he has felt it can burn. . . . same.

And see the danger which we cannot shun. Dryden.

SNAP DRAGON.
Antirrhinum.

Presumption. Minds somewhat raised

By false presumptuous hope ! Milton.

Answer.
With looks that asked, yet dared not hope relief.

Rogers.

I was indeed delirious in my heart,
To lift my love so lofty as thou art.
That thou wert beautiful, and I not blind,

Hath been my sin ;
To love too much — has been the only art I used.

Byron.

SNAP DRAGON.

(Continued.)

If 'tis presumption for a wretch condemned,

To throw himself beneath his judges' feet :

A boldness more than this, I never knew. . Dryden.

There is a pleasure, sure,

In being mad, which none but madmen know !

Let me indulge it : let me gaze for ever !

And, since you are too great to be belov'd,

Be greater, greater yet — and be ador'd. . . . tame.

SNOW BALL.
Viburnum opulus.

To bind.

I will make a desperate tender of my love ! . Shaks.

If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee

To bind our loves up in a holy band same.

For, if you will be married to-morrow, you shall ;

And to Rosalind, if you will same.

Answer.

I will marry thee — if ever I marry woman,

And I '11 be married to-morrow same.

So is the forehead of a married man, more

Honourable than the bare brow of a bachelor. . fame.

SNOW DROP. Refinement.

Galanthus nivalis.

* « * * * Love refines
The thoughts, and heart enlarges ; hath his seat
In reason Milton.

Love, studious how to please, improves our parts
With polish'd manners, and adorns with arts. Dryden.

Love made an active progress through his mind,
The dusky parts he clear'd, the gross refin'd,

The drowsy wak'd same.

By love, his want of words and wit he found,

That sense of want prepared the future way

To knowledge, and disclos'd the promise of a day.

Love taught him shame; and shame, with love at strife,

Soon taught the sweet civilities of life. . . . same.

SORREL, Wild. Wit ill timed. He makes a foe, who makes a jest Gay.

Oxalis. Intemperate wits will spare neither friend nor foe.

L1 Estrange.

SORREL, Wild.

(Continued.)

The world's large tongue
Proclaims you for a man replete with mocks ;
Full of comparisons, and wounding flouts ;
Which you on all estates will execute,
That lie within the mercy of your wit. . . Shaks,

Wit, how delicious to man's dainty taste !
'Tis precious as the vehicle of sense ;
But, as its substitute, a dire disease.
Pernicious talent ! flattered by the world,
By the blind world, which thinks the talent rare.

Young.

Wit, makes an enterpriser ; sense, a man.

Wit, widow'd of good sense, is worse than nought ;

It hoists more sail to run against a rock. . . same.

SPEEDWELL.
Veronica.

Female fidelity. Oh ! woman's love 's a holy light,

And when 'tis kindled, ne'er can die,
It lives, though treachery and slight
To quench the constant flame may try.

A

Like ivy, where it grows 'tis seen

To wear an everlasting green :

Like ivy, too, 'tis found to cling

Too often round a worthless thing Anon.

Pure, as the snow the summer sun
Never at noon hath look'd upon —
Deep, as is the diamond wave,
Hidden in the desert cave —
Changeless, as the greenest leaves
Of the wreath the cypress weaves —
Hopeless, often, when most fond —
Without hope or fear beyond

Its own pale fidelity — _

And this woman's love can be. / . . . . L. E. L.

SPIDER WORT.

Tradescantia virginica.

/ esteem, but do not
love you.

There 's something tells me, (but it is not love,)

I would not lose you ; and you know yourself,

Hate counsels not in such a quality. . . . Shaks.

Oh, do not talk to me of love,

'Tis deepest cruelty to me —

Why throw a net around the bird,

That might be happy, light, and free ? . Westmacott.

There is in love a ceaseless vestal flame,

Oh, surely this is not what thou wouldst claim ;

The pledge of friendship (wilt thou not receive ?)

Is truly yours — 'tis all my heart can give. . . <S**n.

STAR OF BETHLEHEM. Reconciliation.

Ornithogalum.

Love quarrels oft in pleasing concord end. Milton.

I would have my love

Angry sometimes, to sweeten off the rest of her be-
haviour. B. Jonson.

And well do vanish'd frowns enhance
The charm of every brighten'd glance ;
And dearer seems each dawning smile,
For having lost its light awhile. . . .

Moore.

The short passing anger but seem'd to awaken
New beauty, like flowers that are sweetest when shaken.

same.

***** No cloud
Of anger shall remain ; but peace assur'd
And reconcilement. Milton.

ST. JOHN'S WORT.
Hypericum.

Superstition. Lovely beyond the painter's brightest dream,

Vision of beauty ! Can it be of earth —
Or, is it some celestial habitant
Of yonder gorgeous palaces of air,
Built by the genii in the evening sky ? . . S. P. C.

I took it for a fairy vision
Of some gay creatures of the element,
That in the colours of the rainbow live,
And play i' th' plighted clouds. . . .

Say from what far and sunny shore,
Fair wonder, thou dost rove ;

Lest what I only should adore,

I heedless think to love

Milton.

C***e.

STRAWBERRY TREE.

Arbutus.

Esteem and Love.

O, why is gentle love
A stranger to that mind,
Which pity and esteem can move,
Which can be just and kind. . .

Lyttelton.

Love is not love,

When it is mingled with respects, that stand
Aloof from the entire point Shakt.

Friendship, when we ask for love, is like the fra-
grance of remote flowers, that faintly touches the
senses ; or, like the beams of the chaste moon that
gives us light, but yields not warmth. . S. Johnson.

I do love you more than words can wield the matter.

*****

A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable. .

Sfiaks.

STRAWBERRY TREE.

(Continued.)

And long experience of your goodness —
What then was passion, is my judgment now.
Through all the several changes of your life,
Confirm'd and settled in adoring you.

Haynes"1 Fatal Mistake.

For all true love is grounded on esteem.

Buckingham.

SUMACH, Venice. Splendour.

Rhus cotinus.

,

To splendour only do we live ?

Must pomp alone our thoughts employ ?

All, all that pomp and splendour give,

Is dearly bought with love and joy ! . Cartwright.

Can wealth give happiness ? look round and see

What gay distress ! what splendid misery !

I envy none their pageantry and show,

I envy none the gilding of their wo. . . . Young.

\
No flocks, nor herds, nor stores of gold,

Nor house, nor home have I,
If beauty must be bought and sold,

Alas ! / cannot buy ! ....... Old song.

Answer.

Truth, the sunshine of the breast,

Were Armine's wealth, were Armine's fame.

No wealth nor pow'r had he,
Wisdom and worth were all he had,
But these were all to me !

Cartwright.

Goldsmith.

^erit like his, the fortune of the mind,
Beggars all wealth.

Thomson's Tancred and Sigismunda.

I feel I love him, and, in that word are contained birth,
feme, and riches ..... O'Keefe. Wild Oats.

Oh ! if gold could win his heart,
I should from the search depart.

L. E. L.

" What can wealth be to that young heart

Which has a mine of treasure in its own fresh feelings?"

SUN FLOWER, Dwarf.

Helianthus indicus.

Your devout adorer. Oh ! the heart that has truly lov'd never forgets,

But as truly loves on to the close ;
As the sun-flower turns on her god, when he sets,
The same look which she gave when he rose.

Moore.

SUN FLOWER, Dwarf.

(Continued.)

The moon looks

On many brooks,

The brook can see no moon but this :
And thus I thought our fortunes run,
For many a lover looks to thee :
While, oh ! I feel there is but one,
One Mary in the world for me. . .

Moore.

Her words such a pleasure convey,
So much I her accents adore,

Let her speak, and whatever she say,
Methinks I should love her the more.

Shenstone.

SUN FLOWER, Tall. Pride.

Helianthus annuus.

Haughtiness. The sun-flower, with gaudy display,

Above all the garden around
Exhibits his golden array,

As if scorning to spring from the ground.

He lifts his proud head to the sky,
And seeks the broad blaze of the day,

But the poet, and lover, pass by,
And turn from his glory away :

In some spot, more sequester'd, to find
A delicate flower of the morn,

Whose fragrance and beauty combin'd,
His bower and his bosom adorn. . . .

. B.L.L.

The proud giant of the garden race,
O'ertops his fellows with aspiring aim.

Churchill.

The gaudy orient sun-flower from the crowd

Uplifts its golden circle Maturin.

SWEET BRIAR. Simplicity.

Rosa suaveolens.

Fair nature's sweet simplicity
With elegance refined. . . ,

The feeling heart, simplicity of life,
And elegance, and taste

Lyttelton.

Thomson.

So artless, so simple, so wild —

Thou emblem, said I, of my Phillis,

For she is simplicity's child.

The rose-bud 's the blush of my charmer,

Her sweet balmy lip when 'tis prest ;
How fair and how pure is the lily,

But fairer and purer her breast. ....

Burns.

•*••

SWEET BRIAR.

(Continued.)

Beautiful one ! Thy look and tone

Of witchery are nature 'sown —

Like light from heaven, thy magic glance —

Thy voice, the harp's wild utterance,

When touch'd at, eve by some spirit's hand,

It breathes the notes of the better land. . . S. P. C.

SWEET WILLIAM.
Dianthus barbatus.

Finesse.

Griefs, alas ! that may not speak,

Earn poor relief by feigning B. Chester.

/>

Many a withering thought lies hid, not lost,

In smiles, that least befit who wear them most. Byron.

So the cheek may be ting'd with a warm sunny smile,
Though the cold heart to ruin runs darkly the while.

Moore.

An outward firmness, whate'er lurk'd below. L. E. L.

Her cheek was red, but who could know
'Twas flushing with the strife below ?
Her eye was bright, but who could tell
It shone with tears she strove to quell?

* * * #

Ah ! who could think that all so fair
Was semblance, and but misery there ?. . . . same.

*4

This perturbation smooth'd with outward calm. Milton.

SYRINGA, Carolina.
Philadelphus inodorus.

Disappointment. \ Bright blown hopes dispersed in air ! . . . M. /. /.

That keep the word of promise to our ear,

And break it in our hope Shaks.

Thus ever fade my fairy dreams of bliss !

Byron.

Oh ! ever thus, from childhood's hour,

I 've seen my fondest hopes decay Moore.

'Tis ever thus, 'tis ever thus, when hope has built a

bower,
Like that of Eden, wreath'd about with ev'ry thornless

flower,

To dwell therein securely, the self-deceiver's trust,
A whirlwind from the desert comes — and all is in the

dust Anon.

I clasp'd the phantoms, and I found them air.

Oh ! had I weigh'd it ere my fond embrace,

What darts of agony had miss'd my heart. . Young.

THISTLE.

Carduus.

Misanthropy.

He ponders on the world — abhors the whole ! Rogers.

Oh ! that the desert were my dwelling place,

* * *

That I might forget all the human race ! . . Byron.

He sought in solitude to lose his cares ;

Relief in solitude he sought in vain,

It serv'd, like music, but to feed his pain. . . . Gay.

THORN APPLE.
Datura stramonium.

Deceitful charms. An j that deceit should steal such gentle shapes.

Shake.

Are words, then, only false ? are there no looks

Mute, but most eloquent ? . . . . L. E. L.

That mute eloquence which passes speech. . Rogers.

Mine eyes

Were not in fault, for she was beautiful ;
Mine ears, that heard her flattery ; nor mine heart,
That thought her like her seeming ; it had been vicious
To have mistrusted her Shake.

Ah, how have I deserv'd, inhuman maid !

To have my faithful service thus repaid ?

Were all the marks of kindness I receiv'd

But dreams of joy, that charm'd me and deceiv'd ?

Or, did you only nurse my growing love,

That with more pain I might your hatred prove ?

Lyttelton.

THYME.
Thymus.

Activity.

h

I would chide hasty-footed time for parting us. Shaks.

But now the moments bring
The time of parting, with redoubled wing. . Byron.

Ah ! never does time travel faster,

Than when, his way lies among flowers, v. .

Moore.

For things so heavenly have such fleetness. . same.

As I listened to thee,

The happy hours pass'd by us unperceived,
So was my soul fix'd to the soft enchantment.

Rowe's Tamerlane.

TUBEROSE.

Polianthes tuberosa.

Le plus loin, le plus How love can trifle with itself!

cher. Fie ' fie • how wayward is this foolish love ! .

It so falls out,

That what we have, we prize not to the worth
Whiles we enjoy it ; but, being lack'd and lost,

Shaks.

TUBEROSE.

(Continued.)

Why, then, we rack the value : then, we find
The virtue that possession would not show us

Whiles it was ours Shaks.

What our contempts do often hurl from us,

We wish it ours again same.

Mysterious love, uncertain treasure,
Hast thou more of pain or pleasure ?
Endless torments dwell about thee,
Yet who would live, and live without thee ?

Addison'g Rosamond.

By all the token flowers that tell
What words can never tell so well.

^ Every thing seems drear without thee !, . .

Byron.
. Moore.

TULIP, Red.
Tulipa.

A declaration of love.

Who could refrain, that had a heart to love,
And courage to make his love known ? . .

Shaks.

No wonder that my heart was moved,
'Twere marvel, if I had not loved.

. L. E. L.

What should I say,

Or how begin the strain ?

These passions how contain,

That in my throbbing breast tumultuous spring ?

JEschylus. The Choephoree.

Thou — thou hast metamorphos'd me ;
Made me neglect my studies, lose my time,
War with good counsel, set the world at nought,
Made wit with musing, weak, heart-sick with thought.

Shaks.

In mine, survey
A heart that 's yours alone ;
Long has it own'd Elvira's sway,
Though long unnotic'd and unknown. . Carlwright.

TULIP, Yellow. Hopeless love. What youth so cold could view unmov'd

The maid that ev'ry beauty shar'd ?
Her Armine saw ; he saw ; he lov'd ;
He lov'd — alas ! and he despaired. . . . Cartwright.

I know thou doom'st me to despair,

Nor wilt, nor canst relieve me ;

But, ah, Eliza, hear my prayer, —

For pity's sake forgive me ! Burns.

TULIP, Yellow.

(Continued.)

\ The music of thy voice I heard,
Nor wist while it enslav'd me;
I saw thine eyes, yet nothing fear'd,
Till fears no more had saved me. .

Burns.

By day or night, in weal or wo,

This heart no longer free,
Must bear the love it cannot show,

And silent ache for thee Byron.

t-
Successful love may sate itself away,

The wretched are the faithful; 'tis their fate

To have all feeling, save the one, decay,

And every passion into one dilate,

As rapid rivers into ocean pour. \ same.

The pain I bear,
No thought can figure, and no tongue declare. Prior.

I cannot, nay, I wish not to be cured. . . . Dryden.

Answer.

This love that thou hast shown,

Doth add more grief, to too much of mine own.

Shaks.

Thy piercing griefs,
Bewailing thus the miseries of thy fate,
Strike deep ; they wound me to the very soul.

JEachylus"1 Agamemnon.

Those tears may tell thee while they start,

How all thy griefs endear thee. Song by W. Smyth.

TULIP TREE, Blossom. Rural happiness.
Liriodendron tulipifera.

What happiness the rural maid attends,
In cheerful labour while each day she spends !
She gratefully receives what Heaven has sent,
And, rich in poverty, enjoys content.

* * * *

She never feels the spleen's imagin'd pains,
Nor melancholy stagnates in her veins ;
She never loses life in thoughtless ease,
Nor on the velvet couch invites disease;
Her home-spun dress in simple neatness lies,
And for no glaring equipage she sighs :
* * * *

No midnight masquerade her beauty wears,
And health, not paint, the fading bloom repairs.

The spleen is seldom felt where Flora reigns ;
The low'ring eye, the petulance, the frown,
And sullen sadness, that o'ershade, distort,
And mar the face of beauty, when no cause

Gay.

TULIP TREE, Blossom.

(Continued.)

For such immeasurable wo appears,

These Flora banishes, and gives the fair

Sweet smiles, and bloom less transient than her own.

Cowper.

O, friendly to the best pursuits of man,

Friendly to thought, to virtue, and to peace,

Domestic life in rural pleasures past same.

You who the sweets of rural life have known,

Despise the ungrateful hurry of the town. . . Gay.

VENUS' LOOKING-GLASS.
Campanula speculum.

Flattery. Thy words were courtly flattery, such sink like morn-

ing dew,

But, oh ! love takes another tone, the tender and the
true, L.E.L.

I '11 mark no words that smooth-faced wooers say.

Shaks.

/

Think'st thou I am so shallow, so conceitless,

To be seduced by thy flattery,

That hast deceived so many with thy vows ? , Shake.

Answer.
Think not I flatter, for I swear I do not. . . same.

Yet sure whene'er the praise is just,

One may commend, without disgust.

If 'tis offence, such truths to tell,

Why do your merits thus excel ? Gay.

VERBENA ;
or, Vervain.

Sensibility.

Sensibility, how charming,
Thou, my friend, canst truly tell ;
But distress, with horrors arming,
Thou hast also known too well !
• • •

Dearly bought, the hidden treasure,
Finer feelings can bestow !
Chords that vibrate sweetest pleasure,
Thrill the deepest notes of wo. . .

Burns.

Where glow exalted sense, and taste refin'd,
There keener anguish rankles in the mind ;
There feeling is diffus'd through every part ;
Thrills in each nerve, and lives in all the heart.

Hannah More.

The heart that is soonest awake to the flowers,
Is always the first to be touch'd by the thorns. Moore.

VIOLET, Blue.
Viola odorata.

Love.

For thee I '11 lock up all the gates of love. . . Shake.

Love, then, hath every bliss in store :

'Tis friendship, and 'tis something more.

Not to know love, is not to live Gay.

Love is a celestial harmony

Of likely hearts, composed of stars' consent,

Which join together, in sweet sympathy,

To work each other's joy and sweet content. Spencer.

Endearing strife,

That carries friendship to her noon-tide point,
And gives the rivet to eternity Young.

What can earth produce but love

To represent the joys above Anon.

A woman's love, deep in the heart,
Is like the violet flower,

That lifts its modest head apart
In some sequester'd bower.

Anon.

Unhappy fate of doubtful maid !
Her tears may fall, her bosom swell,
But even to the desert ^hade
She never must her secret tell.

W. Smyth.

The love-sick violet, and primrose pale,

Bow their sweet heads, and whisper to the gale.

Darwin.

VIOLET, White.
V. O.

Modesty.

Sweet as spring-time flowers ! Shaks.

The blushing beauties of a modest maid.

Dryden's Ovid.

Her looks do argue her replete with modesty. Shaks •

The violet 's for modesty, which weel she sets to wear.

Burns.

The meek mountain daisy, with delicate crest,
And the violet whose eye told the heaven of her breast.

Mrs. Sigourney.

The modest virtues mingled in her eyes —
Still on the ground dejected, darting all
Their humid beams into the blooming flowers.

Thomson.

And such, methought, whilst bending to the stem,
Is modest virtue's pure and simple gem ;

VIOLET, White.

(Continued.)

No ostentatious wish to seek for praise,
But still retiring from the public gaze,
It spreads its sweet beneficence around,
And, by the fame it shuns, can but be found.

H. K. White.

VIRGIN'S BOWER. Filial lone.

Clematis.

My mother ! at that holy name,

Within my bosom there 's a gush
Of feeling, which no time can tame,
A feeling, which, for years of fame,
I would not, could not crush.

. G. P. Morris.

Can I forget thy cares, from helpless years —

Thy tenderness for me ? An eye still beam'd

With love ? A brow that never knew a frown ?

Nor a harsh word thy tongue ? .... Thomson.

Can I ever cease to be
Affectionate arid kind to thee,
Who wast so very kind to me ?

My Mother !

Oh, no ! the thought I cannot bear,
And if God please my life to spare,
I hope I shall reward thy care,

My Mother ! . . . Anon.

And may reproach transmit my name abhorr'd
To latest time — if ever thought was mine
Unjust to filial reverence — filial love.

"My Father!" . Mallet.

WALL FLOWER. Fidelity in misfortune.

Cheiranthus cheiri.

Ne'er in his woes
Will I forsake whom my soul holds most dear.

AZschylus. The Persians.

Thy rise of fortune did I only wed,
From its decline determin'd to recede ?
Did I but purpose to embark with thee
On the smooth surface of a summer's sea,
While gentle zephyrs play in prosp'rous gales,
And fortune's favour fills the swelling sails ;
But would forsake the ship, and make the shore,
When the winds whistle, and the tempests roar ?
No, Henry, no : one sacred oath has tied
Our loves ; one destiny our life shall guide,
Nor wild, nor deep, our common way divide ! . Prior.

Friendship has a power
To soothe affliction in her darkest hour.

H. K. White.

WALL FLOWER.

(Continued.)

Adhering in the adverse hour,

Like fidelity's own flower,

That over ruins long grown grey,

Throws its colours bright and gay. . . . Mrs. H. S.

In adverse hours the friendship of the good
Shines most ; each prosperous day commands its friends.

Euripides'1 Hecuba.

WEEPING WILLOW.

Salix babylonica.

Forsaken. Prevent his falsehood, and forsake him first. . Philips.

Change thou the first, nor wait thy lover's flight. Prior.

Ah ! little marvel in such clime and age,
That we should daily hear that love is fled,
And hope grown pale, and lighted feelings dead.

Pickersgill.

For love is oft a fatal spell,
That sweetly soothes but to betray —
Let not the soft enchantment wile

Your heart away.
A garland of the cypress tree,
Or weeping willow- wreath, may well

Its emblem be. . . , . . . J. Malcolm.

Some day, perhaps, thou 'It waken
From pleasure's dream to know
The grief of hearts forsaken ! . .

Moore.

WHEAT.
Triticum.

Prosperity.

Prosperity puts out unnumber'd thoughts

Of import high, and light divine, to man. . . Young.

* * * * Who feels no ills,
Should, therefore, fear them ; and, when fortune smiles,
Be doubly cautious, lest destruction come
Remorseless on him, and he fall unpitied.

Sophocles'1 Philoctetes.

When most the world applauds you, most beware ;

'Tis often less a blessing than a snare.

Distrust mankind — with your own heart confer ;

And dread even there to find a flatterer. . ,

Beware what earth calls happiness ; beware
All joys, but joys that never can expire ;
Who builds on less than an immortal base,
Fond as he seems, condemns his joy to death.

Young.

WOODBINE,

The variegated leaf.

Lonicera.

Fraternal hve. Tneir Iove in early infancy began,

And rose as childhood ripen'd into man. . .

Thanks to my stars, I have not rang'd about
The wilds of life, ere I could find a friend :

Dryden.

WOODBINE.

(Continued.)

Nature first pointed out my brother to me,
And early taught me, by her sacred force,
To love thy person, ere I knew thy merit,
Till what was instinct grew up into friendship.

Ours has severest virtue for its basis,
And such a friendship ends not but with life. Addison.

YARROW.

Achillca millcfolium.

1 0 cure. Hear, what from love unpractis'd hearts endure,

From love, — the sole disease thou canst not cure.

Pope.

Ah, luckless day ! when first with fond surprise
On Delia's face I fix'd my eager eyes !
Then in wild tumults all my soul was tost :
Then reason, liberty, at once were lost :
And every wish, and thought, and care, was gone,
But what my heart employ'd on her alone. Lyttelton.

Ye, that witness the woes I endure,
Let reason instruct you to shun
What it cannot instruct you to cure.

. Shenstone.

And soothe the pains thou know'st not how to cure.

Lyttelton.

If there is on earth a cure
For the sunk heart — 'tis this — day after day
To be the blest companion of thy way ;
To hear thy angel eloquence — to see
Those virtuous eyes for ever turn'd on me ;
And in their light, rechasteri'd silently,
Like the stain'd web that whitens in the sun,
Grow pure by being purely shone upon. . . . Moore.

ZINNIA.

Zinnia rnultiflora.

Absence. How blessings brighten as they take their flight ! ,

Young.
Now I know

******

What it is to admire and to love,

And to leave her we love and admire. . . Shenstone,

< I priz'd ev'ry hour that went by,

Beyond all that had pleas'd me before ;
But now they are past, and I sigh ;
And I grieve that I priz'd them no more. . . same.

All flowers will droop in absence of the sun

That wak'd their sweets Dryden.

Love reckons hours for months, and days for years,
And every little absence is an age • same.

L'absence est a 1'amour ce qui est au feu le vent,

II e"teint le petit, il allume le grand. . . Rousseau.

•«&•

WITNESS THE SPRIGHTLY JOT, WHEN AUGHT UNKNOWN
STRIKES THE QUICK SENSE, AND WAKES EACH ACTIVE POWER
TO BRISKER MEASURES.

Jlkenside.

AND ALL ABOUT GREW EVERT SORT OP FLOWER

TO WHICH SAD LOVERS WERE TRANSFORMED OF YORE.

Spencer,

ACACIA.
Robinia.

Robinia, commemorates John Robin, botanist to Henry
the Fourth, and Louis the Thirteenth, of France. He was
found fault with for his selfish love of flowers; the more
curious kinds of which, he would rather destroy, than share
with his friends.

His son, Vespasian Robin, and De Theis, introduced
into the French gardens, from American seeds, that species
of Robinia, called Pseudo Jlcacia, by Tournefort; who, under
that name, founds the present genus.

Jlcacia, is an ancient name, (Gr. «/.*/.ix) derived from
the Greek XXi, a point, or «x*£s, to point or sharpen, in re-
ference to its thorny habit.

The Rose Acacia, R. Hispida, or Hairy Robinia, is a
native of America, particularly of the mountains of Virginia
and Carolina. It is a very ornamental shrub, with copious,
large, pink-coloured papilionaceous blossoms, enhanced, like
the Moss Rose, by the bristly covering of the stalks and
calyx. The leaves pinnate, with an odd leaflet, like the
common locust. It has no thorns. There is a taller, and
less hisped variety.

The Pseudo Jlcacia, or common locust, is also a na-
tive of North America, from Canada to Carolina: and, in
the months of May and June, it is laden with bunches of
white sweet-scented flowers, resembling those of the labur-
num in size and position. The foliage is of a beautiful light
green, consisting of many elliptical, opposite or alternate,
stalked leaflets. It is a large and handsome tree, of quick
growth; beginning, from the third year, to convert its sap
into perfect wood, which is of so fine a grain, and so hard,
as to be substituted by turners for the box, in many sorts of
light work. The branches are liable to be shivered off by
autumnal storms.

There is a very thorny species of Robinia, with yellow
flowers, a native of Siberia, as also of Pekin, in China: in
the latter place, it is frequently fixed with clay on the tops
of walls, to keep off intruders. This R. Spinosa, or Thorny
Robinia, is a shrub, much branched, and with long thorns,
formed by the hardened foot-stalks. It is quite hardy in our

gardens, and would be excellent for hedges. The leaflets
are oblong, wedge-shaped, hardly an inch in length.

The Oriental Jlcacia, from which our green-houses are
furnished, is of a different class and order from the Robinia,
being Polygamia Monozcia; or, perhaps, Polyandria Mo-
nogynia. Natural order, Lomentacx, Linn. Leguminosx,
Juss. The flowers have the appearance of small tufls;
some of the species very fragrant. The foliage presents
great variety in the form of the leaf, and manner of its
growth. And some of them have the sensitive properties of
the Mimosa.

The Jlcacia Vera, or JVRmosa Wilotica, a tree that
grows abundantly on the sandy soil of Egypt and Arabia,
furnishes the Gum-arabic, a pure concrete mucilage, which
exudes, spontaneously, in a liquid state, from the trunk and
boughs, and hardens by contact with the air, and heat of the
sun : incisions are sometimes made through the bark, to assist
the transudation of the juice.

The Jlcacia Jlrabica, or East-Indian Gum-Arabic tree,
besides yielding this wholesome mucilage, is one of the most
useful trees in India, for its tough and hard wood, serving
many valuable purposes in ship building, 8cc.: the bark is
used for dying, and making ink.

Moore, in his " Light of the Harem," has noticed the
Oriental Acacia, in these beautiful lines:

" Our sands are bare, but smiling there

Th' Jlcacia waves her yellow hair.

Lonely and sweet, nor lov'd the less

For flowering in a wilderness.
# * * * #

Then come, — thy Arab maid shall be
The lov'd and lone Jlcacia tree."

I have not designated any particular species of Yellow
Jlcacia, in the Dictionary, from my wish to leave the selec-
tion to such as might chance to be most cultivated, or most
easily commanded.

FLOS ADONIS.

Jldonis.

That this flower owes its name to the favourite of Venus,
is not to be disputed; but whether the Goddess of Beauty

•*"

changed her lover into this plant, or the Anemone, would
be difficult to decide,— since the Linnsean system of dividing
plants into families, did not exist when the Gods and God-
desses made love upon earth: and previous to the time of the
Swedish botanist, the Jldonis was considered to be one of the
Mnemonics, which it greatly resembles, and is of the same
class and order.

Flos (L) a flower, a bloom, a blossom.

Look, in the garden, blooms the Flos Jldonis,
And memory keeps of him who rashly died,
Thereafter changed by Venus, weeping, to this flower.
Anonymous. Garland of Flora.

Ovid certainly designates the Jlnemone, as being the
subject of this metamorphosis:

" Then on the blood, sweet nectar she bestows,
The scented blood in little bubbles rose:
Little as rainy drops, which fluttering fly,
Borne by the winds along a low'ring sky.
Short time ensu'd, till where the blood was shed,
A flower began to rear its purple head:
Such as on punic apples is reveal'd,
Or in the filmy rind but half conceal'd.

Still here the fate of lovely forms we see,
So sudden fades the sweet Jlnemone.
The feeble stems, to stormy blasts a prey,
Their sickly beauties droop and pine away.
The winds forbid the flow'rs to flourish long,
Which owe to winds their names in Grecian song."

Eusden's Ovid.

Great quantities of the Jldonis Jlutumnalis are annu-
ally carried to the London market, and sold by the name
of Red .Morocco and Pheasant's Eye. And, in the time of
Gerard, (a surgeon, and famous herbalist in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, chief gardener to William Cecil, Lord
Burleigh, who was himself a great lover of plants, and had
the best collection of any nobleman in the kingdom,) the
country people called it "Red Camomile" — the London
women, " Rosearubie.n It is an annual, flowering from May
to October. Its characters are, that the calyx is a five-
leaved peria.nt.hium, and the leaflets are obtuse, concave, a
little coloured and deciduous; the corolla has from five to
fifteen, but most commonly eight, — oblong, obtuse, shining,
petals. The stamina consist of very short filaments, and the
anthersc are oblong and inflex: the pistulum has numerous
germs collected in a head, no styles, and acute reflex stigmas:
no pericarpium; an oblong, spiked receptacle: seeds nume-
rous, irregular, angular.

ALMOND.

Jlmygdalus.

Jlmygdalus, in gardening, applies to the Almond, Peach,
and Nectarine trees.

Jlmygdala, Latin for an Almond tree.

Amygdaline, English, resembling almonds.

•Almond, (English) JUmendra, (Spanish) Jlmande,

(French) derived by Menage from amandala, a word in low
Latin — see Johnson.

The Almond is the earliest tree that puts forth its blos-
soms in Syria, and is hence regarded as the emblem and pro-
mise of a fruitful season : its snow-white blossoms appear on
the bare branches, unaccompanied by leaves.

" Mark well the flowering almond in the wood ;
If odorous blooms the bearing branches load,
The glebe will answer to the sylvan reign,
Great heats will follow, and large crops of grain.
But, if a wood of leaves o'ershade the tree,
Such, and so barren will the harvest be;
In vain the hind shall vex the threshing floor,
For empty straw and chaff will be thy store."

Dryden's Virgil.

It is the emblem of Hope :

"The Hope, in dreams of a happier hour

That alights on misery's brow,
Springs out of the silvery almond Jlower,

That blooms on a leafless bough."

Moore.

We presume that Aaron's rod was taken from the Al-
mond tree:

" And behold, the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi,
was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms,
and yielded almonds." (Numbers xvii. 8.)

The common almond, Jl. Communis, has leaves re-
sembling those of the peach, but the lower serratures are
glandular; they proceed from buds both above and below
the flowers, and not, as in the peach, from the ends of the
shoots above, and not below the flowers. The form of the
flowers is not very different, but they usually come out in
pairs, and vary more in their colour, from the fine blush of
the apple -blossom, to a snowy whiteness. The chief obvious
distinction is in the fruit, which is flatter, with a coriaceous,
or leather-like covering, instead of the rich pulp of the
peach and nectarine, opening spontaneously when the kernel
is ripe.

It is a native of Barbary — much cultivated in Italy and
the south of France. It is common in China, and most of the
eastern countries. According to Miller, the Jl. Communis
is cultivated more for the beauty of its flowers than for its
fruit; of which there are two varieties, the sweet and the bit-
ter; which often arise from the fruit of the same tree: the
fruit is good while fresh, but will not keep long.

It is the fruit of the A. Dulcis, or Jordan A., which is
preferred in commerce. This has a tender shell, and a large
sweet kernel. The leaves are broader, shorter, and grow
much closer than those of the common sort, and their edges
are crenate. The Jlowers are very small, and of a pale co-
lour, inclining to white. The trees have been often raised
from the nut, which is imported.

The Jl. Pumila, double-flowering dwarf-almond, is a
shrub of two or three feet high, smooth branches, and dark
purple. Leaves veined-wrinkled, or lanceolated, and dou-
ble serrated. Flowers, generally two in a bud and sessile.
Calyx reddish; petals emarginate, red, longer than the

tube of the calyx: filaments paler; germ and style pubes-
cent at bottom; stipules linear and very deeply serrate.
Its native country Africa.

ALTHJEA.

Hibiscus Syriacus.

Hibiscus, a name given by Linnaeus to designate a
genus of the Mallow tribe, which had hitherto received
only barbarous, or ill-constructed appellations.

The Greek word iSio-xo?, from which it is derived, is
translated " a species of wild or woodland Mallow — Al-
thaea."

Althsea — Greek «x*»<«, from the Gr. «x%,, or axd*.™,
to heal, a remedy, from its many excellent qualities. The
A. Officinalis, common Marsh Mallow, a perennial plant of
about three feet high; the whole herb clothed with a very
soft wool or velvet; purple Jlowers; leaves simple, undivi-
ded, angular, and cottony, alternate, serrated: is a native of
temperate climes, and has been used medicinally in all coun-
tries.

The Hibiscus Syriacus, popularly called Althsea fru-
tex, is a native of Syria and Carniola; a hardy shrub in
our gardens, growing to the height of a small tree; leaves
ovate, somewhat wedge-shaped, three-lobbed, cut, smooth;
calyx double, the outer permanent, consisting of about
eight leaves, as long as the inner; the blossoms are hand-
some, rose coloured, with a crimson eye: liable to variations
in colour, and sometimes double; scentless. It is, perhaps,
the last shrub that comes into leaf with us, and one of the
latest flowering.

The fable of Althxa and her unfortunate son, being
read in my hearing, at the time that the shrub Althaea was
in bloom, and finding that it had been overlooked in the as-
semblage of speaking flowers, I determined to introduce it,
if possible, and the fate of the poor youth who had lost his
life, in consequence of his love for the beautiful nymph
Atalanta — his consuming1 away, as the fatal brand was
burned — by the power of association, suggested the em-
blem of " Consumed by Love."

ALOE.

Jlloe L,, Greek axo*.

All Aloes are natives of hot climates; the Cape of
Good Hope, 8>tc. Some of the species furnish the stimulat-
ing bitter medicine of our shops, which is made by boiling
the leaves to a suitable consistency, and exposing the de-
coction to such heat as will evaporate its fluid parts. The
Africans make ropes of the leaves, which are not apt to rot
in the water; fishing lines, bow strings, &tc., and manufac-
ture it into stockings, hammocks, &.C.

The tree Aloe, Jlloe Dichotoma, growing on the moun-
tains of the Cape of Good Hope, with an erect stem, two
fathoms high, and as thick as a man's leg, is hollowed out
by the natives to make quivers for their bows. Several of
the species are used for hedges. The A. D. has leaves
sword-shaped, and serrate; flowers paniculate; corolla mo-
nopetalous.

Our green-houses abound with the Aloes of diminutive
growth. The flower of the Aloe has no calyx: corolla one-

pe tailed, erect; border spreading and small; nectarious at
the bottom; seeds angular; leaves fleshy.

Among the Mahometans, and particularly in Egypt,
the Aloe is a kind of symbolic plant, and dedicated to the
offices of religion. Pilgrims, on their return from Mecca,
suspend it over their doors, as an evidence of their having
performed that holy journey. The superstitious imagine
that it has the virtue of keeping off evil spirits from theit
houses. Even the Christians and Jews of Cairo, hang it
over their doors for this purpose.

The Aloe was used by the ancients in embalming bo-
dies. Of this Aloes, interpreters understand that to have
been which Nicodemus brought to embalm the body of our
Saviour . John six. 39.

AMARANTH.

Amaranthus.

Amaranthus, L. — Greek «/.*f*i-To;, formed from «,
(not,) .uxfxna,, (to fade,) and avd-o;, (a flower,) or from *,
not, and ftXf*iv<a, to fade — unfading, ever fair, ever young.

Milton mentions this flower as forming the diadem of
the angels:

" With solemn adoration down they cast

Their crowns inwove with Amaranth and gold;

Immortal Amaranth, a flower which once

In Paradise, fast by the tree of life,

Began to bloom; but soon, for man's offence,

To Heaven remov'd, where first it grew, there grows

And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life;

And where the river of bliss, through midst Heaven

Rolls o'er Elysian flowers her amber stream;

With these, that never fade, the spirits elect

Bind their resplendent locks, inwreath'd with beams."

The Amaranth has been placed among the funereal
flowers. Homer has described the Thessalians as wearing
crowns of Amaranth at the funeral of Achilles. Milton,
also, in his Lycidas, classes it among the flowers " that sad
embroidery wear:"

" Bid Amaranthus all his beauty shed,

And daffodillies fill their cups with tears,

To strew the laureate hearse where Lycid lies."

The unfading nature of the flower, we may suppose,
the emblem of lasting grief, the immortality of the soul, &c.

The Amaranth has no corolla: the calyx is coloured,
five or three-leaved, permanent; the leaflets lanceolate and
acute: native of Asia, Africa, and America.

The A. Tricolor, native of the East Indies, is admir-
ed on account of the variegated colours of its leaves, re-
sembling, as Gerard tells us, the splendid and beautiful
feathers of a parrot, with its stripes of red, yellow, white,
green, &c.

There are several American species. The Prince's
Feather, A. Hypochondriacus, is a native of Virginia, as
are several others. The leaves of most of the species of

Amaranth are used in hot countries as culinary plants, but
are not equal to the spinach, which they somewhat resemble.
The greater number of species are annuals.

GLOBE AMARANTH.
Gomphrena.

Gomphrena, a name adopted by Linnaeus, from Dale-
champ, and which is perverted from the Gomphrena of
Pliny. Linnaeus made it classical, by an allusion to Gom-
phos, a nail, wedge, or club — applied to the round head of
flowers.

The Gomphrena of the ancients, is supposed to be the
Amaranthus tricolor, from the description given of it by
Pliny. By the transposition of a letter, this name became
Gomphrena, in some old writers, in which form it was
adopted by Linnaeus.

Gomphrena comes under the denomination of Ever-
lasting, or Amaranthus, on account of the permanent na-
ture of their calyx when dried, which retains its original
colour and splendour.

The G. Globosa is a native of India — an annual. Ca-
lyx coloured; the outer, of three unequal leaves; inner, in
five deep segments. Corolla cylindrical, of one petal, the
length of the inner calyx; its margin equally five-cleft,
spreading, bearing the stamens at its orifice. Filaments
five, short, inserted into the orifice of the corolla, betwixt
its segments; anthers erect, roundish, closing the mouth of
the corolla. Pist. German ovate, pointed, superior; styles
short, cohering at their base; stigmas simple, obtuse, scarce-
ly reaching to the stamens. Seed large, roundish, with an
oblique point.

The Globe Amaranth offers several varieties — white,
purple, speckled with gold, and variegated. They resemble
heads of clover, in the form of their flowers.

The late flowering variegated G. «/2. are called Bache-
lors' Buttons, in America, according to the Encyclopedia.

AMARYLLIS.

•Amaryllis, derived either from the name of a shepherd-
ess, mentioned by Theocritus and Virgil, or from the Greek
xnxfvy ,ux, or *,uxfuyn, splendour— from xftx(\i<r<ru>, to shine,
glitter, sparkle, flash — the Lilio-Narcissus of Tourne-
fort.

"Amaryllis Formosissima, most beautiful Amaryllis,
hangs its nodding bell obliquely towards the horizon, and
as its stem is slender, turns, like a weathercock, from the
wind; and thus, very effectually, preserves its inclosed sta-
mens and anthers from the rain and cold — affording an
agreeable example of art in the vegetable economy."

See Darwin.

" When Heaven's high vault condensing clouds deform,
Fair Amaryllis flies the incumbent storm;
Seeks, with unsteady step, the shelter'd vale,
And turns her blushing beauties from the gale."

Darwin.

It received the name of Jacobea Lily, because some
imagined that they discovered in it, a likeness to the badge

of the order of the knights of the order of St. James, in
Spain. R. Encyclopedia.

It is a native of South America. The flowers are pro-
duced from the sides of the bulbs, are large, and of a deep
red.

The calyx is a spathe, undivided ; corolla two lipped,
nodding, deeply six-parted, stamens and pistils bent down.

There are many species of the Amaryllis, with various
coloured flowers, purple, yellow, &tc. The yellow, Ji. Lu-
tea, a smaller variety, seldom rising more than three or four
inches high, is a native of France, kc., very hardy, flowering
late, generally in September.

Ji. Sarniensis, Guernsey Lily, is a splendid species.
The number of flowers is commonly from eight to twelve,
and the circumference of each about seven inches; the co-
rolla, in its prime, has the colour of a fine gold tissue,
wrought on a rose-coloured ground, and when it begins to
fade, it is pink: in full sunshine, it seems to be studded
with diamonds; but by candle-light, the specks or spangles
appear more like fine gold-dust: when the petals are some-
what withered, they assume a deep crimson colour. This
beautiful plant is a native of Japan, and has long been na-
turalized in Guernsey, whence the roots are sent to most
parts of Europe.

AMBROSIA.

Ambrosia, formed of the two Greek words, • (not) and
/Sfsrs,- (human) signifying divine, immortal; because it ren-
dered those who fed on it, immortal; or, because it was the
food of the immortals.

" The imaginary food of the gods, from which every
thing eminently pleasing to the smell and taste, is called
Ambrosia." Johnson.

Thus, while God spake, ambrosial fragrance fill'd

All Heaven, and the blessed spirits elect

Sense of new joy ineffable diffused. Milton.

To farthest shores th' ambrosial spirit flies,

Sweet to the world, and grateful to the skies. Pope.

Ambrosia for to feast the appetite,

Or flowery odour mix'd with spicery. G. Fletcher.

Here is beauty for the eye;
For the ear sweet melody;
Ambrosiack odours for the smell.

B. Johnson.

The general character of Ambrosia, is a common one-
leafed calyx, corolla of the male compound, uniform, and
hemispherical; (no corolla to the female) the proper, one-
petalled, funnel-shaped; the stamina have very small fila-
ments, anthers erect, parallel, and acuminate; pistillum of
the length of the stamens, stigma membranous; a common
receptacle, scarcely any, naked. Female flowers, below the
males, doubled; one-leafed calyx; the pistillum a germ
ovate, in the bottom of the calyx; style filiform, of the same
length with the calyx, two stigmas; seed single and roundish.

-4-

•*••

There are five species enumerated: one, a common an-
nual weed of North America, A. Gigantea inodora, grow-
ing often eight or ten feet high, spreading out into many
branches; the flowers are not more conspicuous than those
of hemp. The sort common in gardens has three lobed
leaves.

The JL. Maratima, rises about two feet, with multifid
leaves} which, when handled, emit a strong odour: spikes
solitary, hairy and subsessile; native of Cappadocia, Tuscany,
and the country of Nice, on sandy shores.

AMERICAN STARWORT

Aster Tradescanti.

Aster, L. from the Greek «;T>,S, a star, the flower being
radiated.

Botanists have named this species of Aster in compli-
ment to the memory of John Tradescant, one of the fathers
of Natural History in England; as well as one of the ear-
liest cultivators of exotic plants in that country. He was
appointed chief gardener to king Charles the First. His
son, of the same name, visited Virginia, in 1633, and car-
rie'd back with him several new plants, of which this was
one.

It obtained the more familiar name of JWichaelmass*
Daisy, from its flowering about that season of the year, and
the corollas being radiated, and nearly of the size of the com-
mon Daisy.

There are two varieties, viz: the dwarf and tall starwort.
The common Jllichaelmass Daisy grows from three to five
feet high. The leaves of both are radical, about four inches
long, like those of willow; ray varies from white to purple,
consisting of many florets. The dwarf variety produces smaller
flowers, of a dark purple.

North America abounds in Asters of every variety of
hue.

ANEMONE.
(See Note on Adonis.)

•Anemone, Greek »ti/tavs, from MI/S^?, the wind, be-
cause the flower is supposed not to open except the wind
blows on it; or, because it grows in situations much exposed
to the wind.

And coy Anemone that ne'er uncloses

Her lips until they're blown on by the wind.

Hor. Smith.

Heathen mythology informs us that Adonis was killed
by a wild boar, while engaged in the chase of that furious
animal ; and that his blood, which was shed upon the ground,
was, by Venus, changed into the flower Anemone, which has
ever since retained the colour of blood.

By this the boy that by her side lay killed,
Was melted like a vapour from her sight;
And in his blood, that on the ground lay spilled,
A purple flower sprung up chequered with white.

Shaks.

* Michaelmass, Michael and Mass. The feast of the archangel Mi-
chael, celebrated on the 29th September.

The Anemone Vernalis is a native of the mountains,
and barren sands in Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland.
Leaves pinnate; powers red without, and white within.

It has been made the emblem of anxious expectation:

u All wan and shivering in the leafless glade,
The sad Anemone reclin'd her head;
Grief on her cheeks had paled the roseate hue,
And her sweet eye-lids dropp'd with pearly dew.

Breathe gentle air! from cherub lips impart

Thy balmy influence to my anguish'd heart;

Thou whose soft voice calls forth the tender blooms,

Whose pencil paints them, and whose breath perfumes.

* * * *

And give my ivory petals to expand.

# * * *

To her fond prayer propitious zephyr yields,

Sweeps on his sliding shell through azure fields,

O'er her fair mansion waves his whispering wand,

And gives her ivory petals to expand." Daneiit.

The Anemone has, properly, no calyx; but two or three
sets of petals, three in a set, somewhat oblong, which are
folded over the stamens and pistils in a singular and beau-
tiful manner. It differs from the Ranunculus, in not having
a melliferous pore on the claw of each petal. The stamina
have numerous filaments, half the length of the corolla; an-
thers twin and erect; the pistillum has numerous germs in
ahead; styles acuminate, and stigmas obtuse; no pericar-
piutn; receptacle globular or oblong, hollowed and dotted;
numerous seeds, acuminate, retaining the style. It is said to
expand its flower only in fine weather, and to close them on
the approach of rain.

" Anemone, that shuns the impending shower."

Evans.

And hails with kindling smiles the genial skies.

Darwin.

The flowers of the Anemone are of various colours —
white, blue, purple, yellow, crimson, scarlet, peach-blos-
som, 8tc.

Anemone now robed in virgin white,

Now blushing with faint crimson. Gisborne.

u See yon Anemonies their leaves unfold,
With rubies flaming, and with living gold."

The lily, or purple bell
Of Persian wind-flower.

Maturin.

The American Wild Anemone is very delicate and fra-
gile, and soon withers after being cropped.

" Youth, like a thin Anemone, displays
His silken leaf, and in a morn decays."

Sir Wm. Jones.

ARBOR VITJE.

Thuja.

Thuja, L. Greek 5U101-, su,«, or s««; which is de-
rived from SUM, to perfume.

Arbor Vitx, L. from .Arbor, a tree, and Fttee, of life.
The tree of life.

Thuja, the name of a tree, whose very durable wood
served, according to Theophrastus, to make images. Its roots,
in particular, being curiously twisted or veined, were used for
the most valuable ornamental works. This plant was pro-
bably the Juniperus Oxycedrus, very common throughout
Greece and the Archipelago, of which Mr. Hawkins is of
opinion that the most ancient statues were made. Our pre-
sent genus of Thuja has nothing in common with this classi-
cal plant, except being an aromatic evergreen tree of the
same natural order, with very durable wood; but it is not a
native of Greece or the Levant. Rees' Encyclopedia.

The species cultivated are, the American Arbor Vitse,
Thuja Occidentalis, called White Cedar; and the Chinese
Arbor Vitae, Thuja Orientalis. In the first of these species,
there are great varieties; as the American sweet-scented, and
the variegated-leaved — native of North America, from Cana-
da to the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. It is
rather scarce in the Southern States, and only found on the
steep banks of mountain torrents.

The Thuja Occidentalis is an evergreen tree of humble
growth, much branched, very different from most others in the
compressed vertical aspect of its younger shoots, and their
closely imbricated leaves, which are small, obtuse with a
point, smooth; those of two opposite rows compressed and
keeled; the intermediate ones flat, with a glandular point or
cell of resin, at the back. The flowers appear in May, and
are small, solitary, terminal; the males yellowish, and most
abundant. Cones ripened the following year, drooping, about
the size of a filbert kernel, consisting of about half a dozen
lax, smooth, coriaceous scales. The odour of the bruised
plant is aromatic, but not agreeable. The wood is not hard,
but tough, and extremely durable.

Thuja Orientalis, is a native of rocky and mountainous
situations in China and Japan. It is a hardy evergreen in
our gardens, flowering at the same time with the former.
The very copious and crowded young branches are more erect,
more slender, and rather less compressed than those of the
former, and the leaves are furrowed, without any resinous dot.
The young branches two edged; leaves imbricated in four
furrows, compressed, ovate, somewhat rhomboid, with a cen-
tral furrow. Inner scales of the cone obtuse, and remarkably
hooked, with a recurved dorsal point.

AURICULA.

Primula Auricula.

Primula, a name given to the Primrose, as the first of-
fering of Spring, (from Primus,) and retained by Linnxus
for the genus to which that favourite flower belongs; though,
as he remarks in some parts of his writings, there are plants,
in various countries, more strictly entitled to such an ap-
pellation.

Auricula,!*, the outside, the flap of the ear; from auris,

L. the ear. That species of Primrose, called from the shape of
its leaves, Bear's ear.

The Auricula is considered in the Linnaean system as a
species of Primula. The varieties of the Auricula are ex-
tremely numerous, as every year produces a great number of
flowers, different in shape, size, and colour; in the leaves,
also, there is great variety, so that the experienced florist can
distinguish the particular sorts by that means.

The Flora Historica tells us, that it is a native of the icy
summits of the Alps: that it is a plant on which Nature plays
her frolics, and loves to paint in all the varieties of whimsi-
cality and diversity of rich hues. Nature has guarded these
delicate flowers from the scorching heat of the sun's rays, by
sprinkling them with a fine powder, and the leaves of most
of the kinds of Auricula are kept cool by the same wise
precaution.

Auriculas enrich'd
With shining meal o'er all their velvet leaves.

Thomson.

See

Where rayed in sparkling dust, and velvet pride,

Like brilliant stars arranged in splendid row,

The proud Auriculas their lustre show. Kleist.

The acme of the florist's ambition is to procure the Au-
ricula of a glowing scarlet, or deep crimson, edged with
green.

The Primula Auricula, garden Auricula, or Bear's ear,
is the origin of all the fine powdered garden Auriculas; it has,
in a wild state, much less powdery leaves, whose edges are
partially, but often coarsely, serrated; their form broadly and
obtusely obovate. Stalk many-flowered, about the length of
the foliage. The flowers are small, yellow, occasionally
purple, or red, as usually seen in gardens. Their scent is
grateful and peculiar.

BACHELOR'S BUTTON.
Lychnis Dioica.

(See note on Scarlet Lychnis.)

Dioica Wares, or Dioecious flowers, have stamens in one
individual, and pistils in another, on separate plants of the
same species.

Bachelor's Button — Bachelor, a word of very uncer-
tain etymology. Junius derives it from the Gr. /Sxxixcj,
foolish. Menage, from bos chevalier, a knight of the lowest
rank. — The most probable derivation seems to be from bac.ca
laurus, (L) the berry of a Laurel or Bay; Bachelors being
young, are of good hopes, like laurels in the berry.

Johnson.

Lychnis Dioica — red or white field campion, flowers
dioecious; fruit of one cell; crown of each petal four-cleft.
There is a blush-coloured variety, otherwise most like the
white; but more evanescent.

The red flowering kind, L. Diurna, is a very common
plant throughout Europe, in hedges and shady bushy places,
in the spring. The white, L. Vespertina, so called from its
evening fragrance, is a stronger plant, usually found in

fields or open situations, in summer. The roots perennial;
plant hairy, and somewhat viscid, two or three feet high;
leaves ovate or lanceolate, hairy; limb of each petal cloven
half way down, generally with two small acute lobes; its
crown consisting of two obtuse central teeth, and two acute
lateral ones.

BALM.

Melissa.

Melissa, from Melissa, the Greek name of a Bee; or,
rather, as that name itself, like the ancient proper names
•Melissa and Melissus, also originated from Meli, the
Greek for honey, because of the abundant and excellent
honey of the flowers of this herb, for which bees are said
greatly to frequent them. Rees' Encyclopedia.

Balm, E. — French Baume, a contraction of balsam,
which is an aromatic substance, flowing from certain plants.

The Melissa Qfficinalis, Common Balm, has a plea-
sant scent, somewhat like the lemon, and has been denomi-
nated " Melissa odore citri," for this reason. It was for-
merly esteemed of great use in all complaints proceeding
from a disordered state of the nervous system. As a tea,
it is well known to be a grateful diluent drink in fevers,
either by itself, or acidulated with lemon.

Balm is too generally known to require a botanical de-
scription.

BALSAM.
Impatiens.

Impatiens, so called from the great elasticity of the
sutures of its seed vessel, which is completely impatient of
the touch; curling up with great velocity, and scattering
round the seeds. From this remarkable circumstance, it
has obtained the English appellation of " Touch-me-not."

It is a native of the East Indies, China, and Japan. It
has the advantage of retaining all its splendour and fresh-
ness during the drought of the hottest months. Contrary
to the nature of plants, in general, it droops in the cool of
the night, whilst it erects itself in the heat of day, which
causes most other plants to fade. In watering these plants,
care should be taken not to sprinkle or wet the foliage ; and
it is recommended to save the seeds from, the principal stem
only, and not from the collateral branches.

General character of Impatiens: Perianth very small,
of two roundish, pointed, equal leaves, coloured, deciduous.
Corolla five-petalled, irregular; the upper petal roundish,
flat, slightly trifid, making a sort of upper lip; lower pair
very large, obtuse; intermediate pair opposite, rising from
the base of the upper petal; nectary receiving, like a hood,
the base of the flower.

The generic name of Impatiens, has suggested the em-
blem of Impatience; but the Turks represent ardent love
by this flower.

SWEET BASIL.
Ocimum BasUicum.

Ocimum L. the «,x.,uo» of the Greeks. Etymology un-
certain. Some derive the word from the Gr. wxiws, quickly,
swiftly — or from coxi/iow or wxuj, swift, quick, rapid, &.c.

The Ocimum BasUicum, or Common Sweet Basil, is a
native of India and Persia; and may be placed among the
hardy annuals. The leaves ovate, peculiarly smooth and cool
to the touch, and if not too much bruised, exhale a delightful
fragrance. The calyx is remarkably hairy ; the flowers violet-
coloured, varying in colour, sometimes only spotted with pur-
ple.

Basil, E. — French basilic — Latin basilica — Greek
j6«<riA.ixoi/, signifying kingly, royal, courtly.

Several of the species of the Ocimum are held in super-
stitious veneration by the Hindoos, and are used in their reli-
gious ceremonies. The species most in estimation at Cal-
cutta, is known by the general name of Toolsey. The whole
genus is valued for their fragrant, aromatic, and sweet scent;
which, in some instances, resembles the nutmeg, clove, cit-
ron, and fennel.

That which is used in French cookery, rises about ten
inches high, sending out opposite four cornered branches
from the very bottom. Leaves ovate, narrowing gradually
towards each end in acute points, indented on their edges.
The whole plant hairy, and has the odour of cloves.

BAY TREE.

Laurus.

Laurus, the ancient Latin name of the Bay Tree, for
which it is retained by modern botanists, and along with
which it now comprehends a great number of species, consti-
tuting one of the noblest genera in the whole vegetable king-
dom. The origin of the word is now lost in the obscurity of
antiquity: and whether etymologists derive it from lavo, to
wash, or from laus, praise or honour, we have not the satis-
faction to know.

Bay, E. — In Spanish Baya, is a berry, the fruit of the
laurel. Greek ,3«tiov, a branch of the palm tree. It was used
in the ancient purifications. Jlinsworth.

What is now called Bay, was formerly called Laurel,
which has introduced some confusion.

Laurus, Latin — Laurel, English — A*$m, Greek.

Daphne, so famous for her modesty, was transformed
into the Laurel, or Bay tree, which is always flourishing and
pure. Apollo, her lover, crowned his head with the leaves,
and ordained that for ever after, the tree should be sacred to
him. He says of the tree, alter the metamorphosis: —

Because thou canst not be
My mistress, I espouse thee for my tree:
Be thou the prize of honour and renown;
The deathless poet, and the victor crown.
Thou shalt the Roman festivals adorn,
And, after poets, be by victors worn.
« * * *

Secure from thunder, and unharm'd by Jove,
Unfading as th' immortal pow'rs above :
And as the locks of Phoebus are unshorn,
So shall perpetual green thy brows adorn.
The grateful tree was pleas'd with what he said,
And shook the shady honours of her head.

Dryden's Ovid.

The Bay has had ascribed to it the property of resisting
lightning:

There bays still grow, (by thunder not struck down,)
The victor's garland, and the poet's crown.

W. Browne.

Low at your sacred feet our poor muse lays
Her, and her thunder-fearless bays.

Beaumont fy Fletcher.

The Lauras JVo&iZts, or Sweet Bay, is decided to be
the Daphne of Dioscorides; and, consequently, the classical
Laurel of the ancients. It is still called by the same name
among the modern Greeks. It is a native of Asia and Eu-
rope. There are many species of it, some of them indigenous
in America.

The L. Nobttis is a tree of slow growth. Leaves stalk-
ed, lanceolate, veiny, finely reticulated, evergreen, aromatic:
flowers four-cleft, dioecious, in short axillary clusters, of a
pale yellow, borne only by old trees: no calyx.

The Laurel only to adorn
The conqueror, and the poet.

Drayton.

The Laurel meed of mighty conquerors,

And poets sage. Spencer's Fairy Queen.

The triumphal crown of the Romans, was made of
branches of Laurel, or Bay tree, and given to a General who
had gained a battle, or conquered a province, and who was
worthy of the honour of a triumph:

Unchallenged, let the warrior wear

The Laurel in his gory hair. J. JET. Wiffin.

Triumphant Laurels seem to grow

No where so green as on his brow. Butler.

In the genus Laurus, are found the Cinnamon tree, or
L. Cinnamonum, whose bark furnishes the spicy aromatic
Cinnamon of our shops. It is a native of Ceylon, an island
of the East Indies.

The L. Camphora, or Japan Camphor tree, of this ge-
nus, is that from which the best camphor is procured. This
is found in perpendicular veins, near the centre of the tree, or
concreted in the knots of the wood. There is a grosser sort
prepared from the roots, which is afterwards refined by a
chemical process, into the transparent resin used in medicine.
The Camphor tree, in its general character, is nearly related
to the Red Bay of America; so similar in appearance, that,
at a little distance, they are easily confounded.

The L. Cassia, or Cassia-bark tree, celebrated from all
antiquity, belongs to this family: native, also, of the East In-
dies. It is noticed in the Old Testament, Ps. xiv. 7, 8. It
resembles the Cinnamon in its aromatic, fragrant bark.

L. Sassafras, American Sassafras tree, is also of this
genus. It was among the first trees of America which be-
came known to the Europeans, on account of its medicinal
virtues.

L. Caroliniensis, American Red Bay, is another spe-
cies, abundant in the Southern States, where it attains the
height of from sixty to seventy feet, and from fifteen to twen-
ty inches in diameter. The leaves are about six inches long,
alternate, oval-acuminate, whitish, or glaucous, on the lower
surface, and evergreen. They resemble, in odour, those of
the Sweet Bay, L. Nobilis, and may be employed in cooke-
ry. The fruit, or seed, is very similar to those of the Sassa-
fras, of a dark blue colour.

BELVIDERE.

Scoparia. Dulcis.
Jl. Veronica.

Veronica, an old but not classical name. Its common
etymology is between the Greek and Latin, from Verus, or
rather Vera, true, and the Greek sixn,./, a figure; and this,
illiterate and barbarous as it is, has the sanction of the super-
stitious legend of St. Veronica, whose handkerchief is re-
corded to have received the impression of our Saviour's face,
as he used it in bearing his cross to the place of crucifixion.

Veronica is abbreviated from Vericonica, of Vera-icon
q. d. true image. Veronicas, in commerce, are imitations of
that celebrated original one, preserved with great veneration
at St. Peter's, in Rome; and imagined, by some, to be the
handkerchief laid over our Saviour's face in the sepulchre.

Ambrosinus says, the word Veronica is German, and ori-
ginated in the druggists' shops of that country. He favours
the idea of its being corrupted from Vetonica, our Betonica,
or Betony.

Belvidere, E., from the Latin bellus, fine, and video, to
see.

Scoparia, from the Latin Scopse, a broom, because the
plant is used in the West Indies for making brooms.

Scoparia Dulcis, Sweet Scoparia. The leaves have a
sweet taste like liquorice, whence its name of Wild Liquor-
ice, or Sweet Weed, by which it is known in Jamaica.
Sloane says, that three spoonfulls of the expressed juice of
these leaves, taken evening and morning, for three days, is
counted an infallible remedy for any cough. It has long been
known in our green-houses as an annual of no great beauty.
It blossoms throughout the summer: the stem is very bushy,
angular: leaves stalked, an inch long, light green, smooth,
coarsely and bluntly serrated, tapering at the base: flowers
small, white: corolla wheel-shaped, deeply four-cleft; nume-
rous axillary, solitary, on short slender stalks: calyx in four
deep equal segments.

BIRD'S-FOOT TREFOIL.

Lotus.
(See Lotos.)

Lotus, or Lotos, a name applied to several herbaceous
plants, essential to the maintenance of domestic cattle in
countries sparingly furnished with grass.
For Trefoil, see clover.

There are several species of the Bird's-foot trefoil noticed
under the article Lotus. The square podded Lotus sili-
quosus, with large lemon-coloured flowers — once cultivated
for the pods as a vegetable; and, latterly, for its flowers.
Roots perennial.

The Crimson-winged Pea, or L. Tetragonolobus, is a
hardy annual, with deep crimson velvety flowers. The pods,
also, esculent. This species has been celebrated, as having
first called the attention of Linnaeus to the sleep of the
plants. He observed its flowers to close up in the evening,
and open again in the morning.

Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, L. Corniculatus,* usually
found in open grassy pastures, where it is conspicuous in the
Autumn, with flowers of a golden yellow, more or less stain-
ed or striped with dark red: the stem clothed with close-
pressed hairs: pod or seed-vessel of a shining brown or cop-
per colour: roots perennial — has been recommended for fod-
der and hay, by the name of Milk-vetch.

The essential character of this genus, is Legume cylin-
drical, straight, wings cohering longitudinally above: calyx
tubular; filaments dilated upwards: corolla papilionaceous.

BOX.
Buxus.

Buxus, L. from the Greek iruj-i;, a box, and TruS-o;, the
tree. Sax. box.

The Box, sacred to Cybele, because the pipes used in
her sacrifices were made of it.

(See Tooke's Pantheon.)

The Arborescent Box, or Buxus Jlrborescens, (Semper-
virens, Linn.) a shrubby tree, from twelve to sixteen feet
high; is a native oF most parts of Europe, from Britain south-
ward, and in the temperate parts of Asia and America. It
was much admired by the ancients, on account of its being
easily clipped into the shape of animals, and other fantastic
appearances. The younger Pliny gives a florid description of
the pleasure grounds at one of his country seats; in which,
among other curious devices, the letters of his own name, and
of other words, were orderly expressed in rows of shorn box.

The Dwarf Box, or Buxus Suffruticosa, never rises to
a greater height than about three feet, and grows in thick,
much-branched tufts. It is found wild in many parts of
France, by the road sides, about villages, and in stony, waste
places, and is said to be truly indigenous.

It is used in gardening, to divide beds from the walks of
flower-gardens, and has great durability. R. E.

The Box is too well known to require a botanical de-
scription.

BROOM.

Genista.

Genista, either from Genu, a knee — in allusion to the
bending of the twigs; or from Geno, to produce: because it
grows wild in abundance. Not a very clear etymology.

Bees' Encyclopedia.

Broom, E. — Sax. brum, so called from its being made
into brooms to sweep with.

Genista, Green-weed, Dwarf Broom, Scotch Broom,
8tc. A genus of shrubs almost entirely European, with tough
angular stems and branches, either ternate or simple leaves,
and yellow flowers : calyx a perianth inferior, of one leaf,
small, tubular, two-lipped, the upper lip with two teeth, lower

* Corniculatus, Latin — Horned, like the Moon.

with three. Corolla papilionaceous, standard oblong, bent
backwards from the rest of the flower.

Sweet blooms Genista in the myrtle shade,

And ten fond brothers woo the haughty maid.

Darwin.

In allusion to the ten stamens being united at the bot-
tom into one brotherhood, and with the single pistil inhabit-
ing the same flower.

In France, the Broom is regarded as the emblem of
Humility. Garland of Flora.

The Encyclopedia states, that the term Plantagenet
lias given infinite perplexity to the etymologists and antiqua-
rians. It is allowed to have belonged to the house of Anjou ;
and was brought to the throne of England by Henry the Se-
cond, where it was preserved by his posterity, till the time of
Henry the Eighth, a space of above four hundred years.

Skinner tells us that " the house of Anjou derived the
name Plantagenet from a prince thereof, who having killed
his brother, to enjoy his principality, afterwards repented,
and made a voyage to the Holy Land to expiate his crime;
disciplining himself every night with a rod made of the plant
Genet, Genista, broom." And we are told, elsewhere, that
he became nick-named Planta-genet, from the use he had
made of the Broom, or Genista.

Lemon, in his English Etymology, says: "It is very
observable, that fourteen princes of the family of Plantagenet
have sate on the throne of England for upwards of three hun-
dred years, and yet very few of our countrymen have known
either the reason of that appellation, or the etymology of it:
but history tells us, that Geofry, earl of Anjou, acquired the
surname of Plantagenet from the incident of his wearing a
sprig of Broom in his helmet, on a day of battle. This
Geofry was second husband to Matilda, or Maud, empress
of Germany, and daughter of Henry I., of England : and from
this Plantagenet family were descended all our Edwards and
Henrys."

Of the Broom there are three varieties — the yellow, vio-
let, and white flowering.

Their groves of sweet myrtle let foreign lands reckon,
Where bright beaming summers exalt the perfume;
Far dearer to me yon lone glen o' green breckan,
Wi' the burn stealing under the lang yellow broom.

Burns.

The wilding broom as sweet, which gracefully
Flings its long tresses, waving in yellow beauty.

Landon.

The humble Broom and osiers have their use,
And shade for sheep, and food for flocks produce.

Dryden.

The broom and the furze are perpetually associated.
They both bear papilionaceous flowers. The furze is some-
times called, by botanists, Genista Spinosa, and also Ulex
Europceus, provincially Whin or Gorse. This grows abund-
antly in England: and it is recorded of Linnsus, that when
he visited England, in 1736, he was so much delighted with
the golden bloom of the furze, which he then saw for the

first time, on a common near London, that he fell on his
knees, enraptured at the sight. He conveyed some of the
plants to Sweden; and he complains in Hort. Upsal, 212,
that he could never preserve it in his garden, through the
winter.

Of the furze, the common yellow and the white, are
ranked under the head of evergreens-
Here the furze

Enriched among its spines, with golden flowers,
Scents the keen air. Charlotte Smith.

The gorse is yellow on the heath,

The banks with speedwell flowers are gay. Same.

The purple heath, and golden broom,

Which scent the passing gale. Montgomery.

BUTTER CUP.

Ranunculus. Jlcris.

Ranunculus, derived from Rana, and means a little
frog. It is possible that the divisions of the leaves may have
suggested the idea of a frog's foot, which supposition is con-
firmed by the English name Crow-foot.

It is an extensive and varied herbaceous genus: the seed,
in no instance, ever producing two flowers alike, or one si-
milar to the parent plant. The prevailing colour of the flower
is yellow; yet it embraces all colours, from black down to
white: blue is one of its most rare colours.

The plants of Ranunculus have a caustic and burning
quality, injurious to men and cattle; particularly sheep: and
it was with one kind of Ranunculus that the ancients poison-
ed their arrows.

The essential mark of this genus, consists, according to
Linnaeus, in the nectary; the rest of the parts being uncer-
tain. The nectary, in some species, is a naked pore; in some,
it is bordered with a cylindrical margin ; in others, closed with
a notched scale.

Its general character is that of a perianth, of five ovate,
concave, somewhat coloured, deciduous leaves: corolla of five
petals, obtuse, polished: with small claws: nectary a cavity
in each petal, just above the claw.

The Ranunculus Acris, Butter-cup, or King-cup, is a
native of meadows and pastures, flowering from May to
August. Called Butter-cup, from blooming at the season
when the best butter is made. The double-flowered variety is
frequent in gardens.

And fairies now, no doubt, unseen,

In silent revels sup;
With dew-drop bumpers toast their queen,

From crow-flower's golden cup. Clare.

Let weeds, instead of butter-flowers, appear,

And meads, instead of daisies, hemlock wear. Gay.

Bright flowing king-cups promise future wealth.

Garland of Flora.

CALLA ^THIOPICA.
•Arum JEthi&picum.

Jlrum, supposed to be derived from a Greek word ȣ*,
signifying injury. I suppose from the acrimonious quality of
the root, which, if cut in slices, and applied to the skin, will
blister the part.

The *#. Maculatum, or common Arum, is the only spe-
cies indigenous in Britain, and is used medicinally. Its me-
dicinal efficacy resides wholly in the active volatile matter,
•which is completely dissipated by drying, or the application
of heat, so as to leave the root a bland farinaceous aliment.

There is a species, JLrum Virginicum, Virginian Arum,
which grows wild in wet places in Virginia, Carolina and
Pennsylvania, &tc., of which the savages are said to be very
fond. They boil the spadix, with the berries, and devour it
as a great dainty. There are several species of the Arum in-
digenous in America.

Calla, is derived, according to some authors, from the
Greek X«A.\OS, beauty. According to Professor Martyn, from
x»\x.»iov, Gr., the wattles of a cock.

The Calla Ethiopica — Ethiopian Calla, Cuckoo-pint,
Wake- robin, Dragon-plant, Friar's-cowl, Eve's-apron, all
English names applied to it, is a species of Jlrum — a native
of the cape of Good Hope. The flower is beautiful. Its
alabaster white calyx expands into so elegant a vase-like shape,
that Flora seems to have intended it for the hand of Hebe,
when she presents the imperial nectar to Jove. This vegeta-
ble cup also pours out an. agreeable perfume from its graceful
and beautiful horn. Its appearance, in a group of plants, re-
minds us of a beautiful antique lamp for burning incense;
which illusion the flame-coloured spadix, arising out of the
centre of the white calix, considerably increases. It has ar-
row-shaped leaves, clustering from the root, eight or nine
inches long, of a shining green, ending in a point, which turns
backwards on petioles more than a foot long, furrowed, and
sheathing at their base. The white spathe, a little fleshy,
twisted at the bottom, but spread open at the top, suddenly
contracting, and ending in a point. The spadix yellowish,
cylindrical, about half the length of the spathe. Stamens
above, pistils below, set so closely together, that they are
not easily distinguished. The seeds are roundish, dark-
brown and smooth.

CALYCANTHUS FLORIDUS.
Carolina Jlllspice; or
Sweet-scented Shrub.

Calycanthus, from the Greek x*\us, calyx; and «vdo;,
a flower. So called, because the calyx resembles a corolla.
Linnaeus gives the flower no corolla, but a calyx with many
divisions in two concentric ranks, all resembling petals.

Jussieu observed, that the inner rank probably consists
of petals. A shrub three or four feet high: stem irregularly
branched; covered with a brown aromatic bark. Leaves
opposite, egg-shaped: flowers of a dusky purple; the petals
incurved at the top. A native of Carolina. The seeds are
thought to be poisonous to dogs and foxes.

CAMELLIA JAPONICA.

Japan Rose.
Camellia, so named in honour of Geo. Joseph Kamel, a

Jesuit, whose name has been Latinized into Camellus; au-
thor of Syllabus Stirpium, &.c., annexed to the third volume
of Ray's Historia Plantarum.

Camellia Japonica — a lofty, large, evergreen tree:
leaves alternate, egg-shaped, acute, shining on both sides,
thick and stiff, paler green beneath, on short leaf-stalks.
Flowers large and beautiful, in the form of the rose: those
raised in Europe, of a lively red; but in their native country,
they exhibit a variety of colours. Its flowers readily become
double, in which state they often occur in Chinese paintings.
A native of China and Japan — introduced into England, be-
fore 1742, by Robert James, Lord Petre.

As Venus wander'd 'midst the Italian bower,
And mark'd the loves and graces round her play;
She pluck'd a musk-rose from its dew-bent spray,
"And this," she cried, "shall be my favourite flower;
For o'er its crimson leaflets I will shower
Dissolving sweets to steal the soul away;
That Dian's self shall own their sov'reign sway,
And feel the influence of my mightier power."

Then spoke fair Cynthia, as severe she smiled, —
"Be others by thy amorous arts beguiled;
Ne'er shall thy dang'rous gifts these brows adorn;
To me more dear than all their rich perfume
The chaste Camellia's pure and spotless bloom,
That boasts no fragrance, and conceals no thorn."

Wm. Roscoe, Esq.

CANTERBURY BELL.

Campanula. Medium.

Campanula, Latin, For a.' little bell.

Root biennial. The plant decays after having matured
its seeds. The seeds should be sown in the spring and trans-
planted in the autumn, preparatory to its flowering the fol-
lowing year.

Stem two feet high. Root-leaves narrowed at the base
into long leaf-stalks, slightly scolloped, hairy, harsh to the
touch. Stem-leaves oblong, scolloped. Flowers blue, pur-
ple, or white, large — Monopetalous.

Native of woods on the continent of Europe.

CAPE JASMINE.
Gardenia. Florida.

Gardenia, so named by Ellis, in honour of his able friend
and correspondent, Dr. Alexander Garden — an eminent
botanist and zoologist — a Scotchman, who settled at Charles-
ton, S. C., in 1752: a correspondent, also, of Linnaeus. Dur-
ing the political disturbances in America, he, being a loyalist,
took refuge in Europe; and, in 1761, he was elected a mem-
ber of the Royal Academy of Upsal.

The original idea and character of this genus are taken
from the G. Florida, first carried to England by Captain
Hutchinson, in full bloom, from the Cape of Good Hope.
Gordon, the nursery-man, having obtained layers, propagated
it so successfully, as to have gained more than Jive hundred
pounds by the produce. The flowers are always double, like
those of the original shrub; with only imperfect traces of an-
thers: but many specimens, with sii gle flowers, have been

brought from the East Indies, where it grows wild, as well as
in China and Japan.

St em shrubby, three or four feet high: leaves opposite,
on short stalks, elliptical, bluntly pointed, entire, smooth,
veiny, evergreen. Flowers solitary, of the size and aspect
of a double Narcissus Poeticus, (which is the largest of the
white kinds, with a crimson border on the cup of the necta-
ry,) with a sweet and very powerful scent, resembling the fla-
vour of ginger.

CARDINAL'S FLOWER.

Lobelia. Cardinalis.

Lobelia, so called in honour of Matthias de Lobel, or
1} Obel, a botanist, contemporary with Chisius, whose wood-
en cuts, for the most part, re-appeared in his works. He
was, at one time, physician to the illustrious Prince of Orange,
and to the States of Holland. Born at Lisle, in Flanders, in
1538. He removed to England before the year 1750, and
was appointed botanist and physician to James the First, of
England. He had, at one time, the superintendence of Lord
Zouch's garden, at Hackney, during the latter part of the
reign of Queen Elizabeth. He was one of the contributors
to a work entitled the Adversaria, dedicated to Queen Eliza-
beth. The aim of the authors of this work, was to investi-
gate the botany and ma.te.via medica of the ancients; and
especially of Dioscorides. In the decline of life, he lived at
Highgate; and died in 1616 — aged 78.

The Cardinal's flower, Lobelia Cardinalis, was intro-
duced into Great Britain in the reign of the First Charles;
whose herbalist, Parkinson, mentions it as a " brave plant."
We presume it was called CardinaPs flower on account of
the bright red colour of the corollas. It is a native of North
America, growing by the sides of rivers and ditches. Its
roots perennial; stems three feet high, leafy : flowers rich,
and vivid scarlet.

The L. Fulgens, Refulgent Lobelia; and the L. Splen-
dous, Shining Lobelia, are still more brilliant: they are
Mexican plants; and when cultivated with care, the crimson
flowers assume a degree of magnificence scarcely surpassed
by any other plant.

The foliage of the Splendid, or Shining Lobelia, is mark-
ed with dashes of a rich puce colour; which, together with
the claret coloured flower-stalks, adds greatly to the beauty of
the plant. The stems from five to six feet high.

The Blue Lobelia, much used in medicine, grows
abundantly in the middle and southern states of North Ame-
rica, in moist grounds. The stem erect, (not branched,
like the L. Inflata,) rather hairy, from one to three or four
feet high; leaves ovate, lanceolate, unequally serrate; raceme
leafy; calyx, hairy, with sinuses reflexed; flowers, large,
bright blue, on short peduncles. Every part of the plant
abounds with a milky juice, and has a strong, disagreeable
odour. The root, which is the part used in medicine, resem-
bles tobacco in taste, and is apt to excite nausea. It flowers
all the summer.

CATCH FLY.

Silene.
Silene, a name given to this genus by Linnaeus, in allu-

•*••

••*•

sion to the viscid moisture of its stalks, under the flowers of
this plant, by which flies of the smaller kind are entrapped:
a curious contrivance of Nature, to prevent various insects
from plundering the honey, or devouring the seed. The
word Silenc, probably derived from the Greek <r>«\ov; Latin,
saliva. De Theis deduces it more directly from the drunk-
en god Silenus, whose name he supposes to have a similar
origin :

The fell Silene, and her Bisters fair,

Skill'd in destruction, spread the viscous snare.

»,.'»."•'.'»

Haste, glittering nations, tenants of the air,
Oh, steer from hence your viewless course afar!
If with soft words * * * *
The three dread syrens lure you to their toils,
Limed by their art, in vain you point your stings,
In vain the efforts of your whirring wings !

Darwin.

The general character of this genus is, a calyx of one
leaf, swelling; petals five; with erect, narrow claws, the
length of the calyx; bordered with a membrane, capsule su-
perior, imperfectly three celled, bursting at the top; seeds
numerous, kidney-shaped, attached to a central receptacle.

There are varieties of pink — white, purple, and variegat-
ed flowers. They are hardy, herbaceous, annual and peren-
nial plants.

CEDAR.

Juniperus.

Juniperus, an ancient Latin name; of whose meaning
or derivation, no account is given.

The Juniperus Virginiana, Virginian Juniper, or Red
Cedar — native of North America, the West India islands,
and Japan. The wood of this tree is celebrated for its pow-
erful fragrance, and for resisting the attacks of insects; being
the well known red cedar used in lead pencils, &tc. It is the
most common of its genus in the United States. The foliage
is evergreen, numerously subdivided, and composed of small
sharp scales, enchased in one another. The flowers are small
and inconspicuous: no corolla, only a calyx. The seeds are
small, ovate berries, bluish when ripe, and covered with a
white exudation. From these berries the spirituous Gin is
prepared.

CHINA ASTER; or, STARWORT.

Jlster Chinensis.

(For Jlster, see American Starwort.)
The China Jlster has the largest and handsomest flow-
ers of any of this genus. Flowers, single and double, white,
blue, purple, red, and variegated, blue and white. Height
from eighteen inches to two feet; a well known annual
plant. Leaves ovate, angular, toothed, petioled; calyx ex-
panding, leafy, terminal; disk yellow, floscules of the ray,
broad and long; seeds ripened in autumn.

CHINESE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

Chrysanthemum Indicum.
Chrysanthemum, from Chrusos, the Greek for gold,

and Jlnthos, a flower — a generic name given to these plants,
because the species most familiar to the Greeks produced
flowers of a gold colour. This shows the error of forming
the generic name of plants from the colour, when the same
species may present all the colours of the rainbow.

The Indian, or Chinese Chrysanthemum, was introduced
into Europe as early as 1764. There are already thirty vari-
eties of it. It may now be considered a hardy perennial
plant. The varieties differ in the shape of their leaves; some
having their serratures much deeper cut than others. The
greater number have an odour resembling that of the chamo-
mile flower. Stem somewhat woody, two or three feet high,
much branched: leaves alternate, and serrated; upper sur-
face deep green; lower, soft to the touch, and clothed with a
slight down: Jlowers large, solitary, terminating the branch-
es: calyx common, hemispherical, imbricated: corolla com-
pound, radiated: receptacle naked.

CLOVER RED.

Trifolium.

Trifolium, the Triphullon of the Greeks— Trefle of the
French; from which last is more immediately derived our
Trefoil: names, all expressive of the same idea, of three
leaves, or leaflets, growing on one stalk.

Clover, E. more properly claver. Dutch klaver. The
word is no doubt from the Saxon word clozfcr, to cleave, from
the appearance of the cloven leaves. Johnson.

Clover-grass — Saxon clsefer-wyrt, clover-wort. Dutch
klaver. The D. word signifies a club. The name signifies
club-grass, club-wort. Latin clava, a club, from its flower.

Webster.

The desert with sweet claver fills,

And richly shades the joyful hills.

Sandys, see Johnson.

The different species of Trefoil always contract their
leaves at the approach of a storm : hence these plants have
been termed the husbandman's barometer.

To live in clover, is to live luxuriously, or in abund-
ance.

The purple or red Trefoil, or Clover T. Pratense, with
terminal spikes of numerous flowers, their petals united at
the base, and combined with the filaments : calyx hairy, ten-
ribbed, much shorter than the corolla; a sweet but faint
scent; blooms all the summer through, from May to Septem-
ber: affording an abundant return of profit to those who have
the industry to attend properly to its cultivation. It is a
well known biennial, perennial plant, of the artificial grass
kind, whose roots are apt to decay after they have perfected
their seed; it is, therefore, necessary to be diligent in crop-
ping, or mowing it, when it begins to flower: the roots then
send up new shoots, whereby the plant is continued longer
than it would naturally do. One acre of red or broad clover
will go as far in feeding cattle, as three or four of natural grass.
The best clover-seed is that where the purple colour chiefly
prevails.

Pliny designates clover as the sweet and honeyed Lotus.
"The field clover that grew in Campagne, about Rome, the
bees, you know, are very fond of it."

Shamrock, is the Irish name for three-leaved grass, or
Trefoil.

Saint Patrick, (the tutelar saint of Ireland,) is said, while
preaching to the pagan Irish, to have used the Trefoil, or
Shamrock, to explain the doctrine of the Trinity; which so
operated on their conviction, that a sprig of this grass is ever
since worn by the Irish, on the anniversary of the saint, com-
memorative of the event.

The order of St. Patrick, was instituted by George III.,
in 1783. The badge of this order is a saltier red, on a field
azure, surrounded with a Shamrock, or Trefoil vert, charged
with three imperial crowns, or within a garter; on which is
the motto quis separabit — " who shall separate them." The
whole is surrounded by a star of silver, with eight points; all
which is embroidered, and worn on the outer garment of the
knights of the order.

CRESTED AMARANTH; or, COCK'S COMB.
Celosia Cristata.

Celosia, the generic name of this singular plant, is de-
rived from the Greek x>ixsc;, brilliant, or x>txea!, to entice, or
enchant. The English name Cock's comb, and the French
Crete de Coq, is given on account of the resemblance which
the crested head, or mass of flowers, bears to the crest, or
comb of a cock.

It is a native of Asia: cultivated to such perfection in
Persia, China, and Japan, that the crests, or heads of the
flowers, are said to be frequently a foot in length and
breadth.

It is an annual plant, with angular, striated st ems : leaves
alternate, acute, narrowed into a petiole at the base, some-
times a little curved: flowers so numerous and small, and so
closely set together, on an irregular, flattish surface, as to look
more like a piece of rich velvet, than a vegetable substance,
sometimes branched at the base. The form of the crests are
so variable as seldom to give two of the same shape. The
colours, orange-yellow, bright red, purple, white, and some-
times variegated.

COLUMBINE.

JlquUegia.

Jlquilegia, from Jlquila, an Eagle; the nectaries being
fancied to resemble an Eagle's talon.

Columbine, from Columba, a Pigeon — from a supposed
resemblance the same parts of the flower bear to the head of
a Pigeon.

Some etymologists are of opinion, that the name of Jlqui-
legia is given to this plant, because the leaves, when not fully
expanded, collect and gather a great deal of rain water.

Darwin tells us that in Jlquilegia (or Columbine) the
nectary is imagined to be like the neck and body of a bird,
and the two petals standing upon each side to represent wings,
whence its name of Columbine, as if resembling a nest of
young pigeons fluttering whilst their parent feeds them. [See
his note upon Lonicera.]

The roots are perennial. Flowers of various colours,
purple, blue, red, white, &c.

The dark blue or purple-flowered, Jl. vulgaris, common
Columbine, about three feet high, is of European growth.

The Jl. Canadensis, red flowering Columbine, is a na-
tive of North America, from Canada, to Carolina: and was
carried from Virginia to Europe by Tradescant. It is a more
graceful and delicate plant than the purple. Its very slender
stems are reddish. Corollas, yellow within, and red with-
out. Lower leaves biternate, irregularly divided, the extreme
lobes blunt; the upper lobes simply ternate, toothed, or per-
fectly entire: the uppermost, simple, lanceolate, acuminate.

CONVOLVULUS;
Or, Bind Weed.

Convolvulus, perhaps from Convolve, to wrap or wind
about, to envelope, to encompass — as many of the species are
twining.

Indigenous in Europe, America, and the Indies.

The Convolvulus opens and closes its monopetalous
flower with folds similar to those of a parasol, and are never
expanded at night, or in wet weather, in order that the anthers
and stigma may be guarded from the humidity of the air.

Convolvulus, expand thy cup-like flower,
Graceful in form, and beautiful in hue!

Barton.

u Flowers, which shrinking from the chilly night,
Droop and shut up; but, with fair morning's touch
Rise on their stems, all open and upright."

The character of this genus is a five-cleft calyx, bell, or
funnel-shaped corolla, plaited border generally spreading,
more or less five lobed. Leaves, heart-shaped.

ARKANSA. COREOPSIS.
Coreopsis tinctoria.

Coreopsis, from the Greek xo?i;, a bug, and ejr;i?, ap-
pearance; alluding to a fancied resemblance between the
seed and an insect.

Tinctoria, from the Latin tinctura, a colour or dye.

Jlrkansa, indicates the situation from whence it was
taken by Professor Nuttall.

Mr. Pastie of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris,
advances the new hypothesis, that it is of more consequence
(in a medical point of view) to know the exact natural situa-
tion of a plant, than knowing the genus. He observes, that,
all plants which grow on high cold grounds have a tonic and
stimulating power, whilst those are found to have a contrary
quality, which are natives of opposite situations.

(Sec Mauri's Botany.)

The Jlrkansa Coreopsis, is a very pretty slender grow-
ing annual, of from two to three feet high. Flowers terminal.
Petals wedge-shaped, generally three-toothed at the point,
the middle tooth longest, and often notched, of a bright golden
colour, with a dark crimson spot at the base. Florets of the
disk black-purple; but the styles and stigma being yellow,
occasion the outer rim, when the florets are expanded, to ap-
pear yellow.

•*••

COWSLIP.
Primula. Fens.
(See Primrose.)

Primula veris, sulphur coloured Cowslip.
Called Cowslip, as some think, from their odour resem-
bling the breath of a cow; — or, perhaps, from their growing
much in pasture grounds, and often meeting the cow's-lip.

Johnson.

The blossoms of the P. veris (or common European
Cowslip) communicate their aromatic fragrance, and narcotic
quality, to made wines, which thence have a resemblance to
the Muscadel wines of the south of France.

>— For want of rest,

Lettuce and Cowslip wine : probatum est. Pope.

Thy little sons

Permit to range the pastures; gladly they

Will mow the Cowslip posies, faintly sweet,

From whence thou artificial wines shall drain

Of icy taste, that in mid fervours, best

Slack craving thirst, and mitigate the day. Philips.

The flowers of the Cowslip are frequently mixed with
tea, to give it a flavour. The leaves were formerly eaten
in sallad. Flora Historica.

How cheerful along the gay mead

The Daisy and Cowslip appear. Milton.

Pale Primrose, in whose cup

The pearly dew glitters. B. Barton,

The uncommon beauty of the American Cowslip, or
JWeadia, occasioned Linnaeus to give it the generic name of
Dodecatheon, and Dr. Mead to affix his name to it.

Dodecatheon, is derived from two Greek words signify-
ing twelve and a divinity. An old name for the Cowslip,
supposed to signify the twelve heathen gods. Or, as some
suppose, to allude to the twelve Caesars, who were comme-
morated in the circle of twelve flowers, or thereabouts, com-
posing its umbel. The idea is rather far-fetched, and the Cae-
sars, for the most part, were unworthy of any such elegant
commemoration. However this may be, Linnaeus retained
the appellation for a new genus, akin to the Cowslip, which
had been called J\Teadia, after Dr. Mead, a name, which
Linnaeus rejected as unworthy for generic, though he pre-
served it in the specific one.

The only species described is the Meadia, which is a na-
tive of Virginia. A hardy perennial, that bears the severest
cold, flowering in June. When it was first sent to England,
it was raised from the seed, by Mr. Peter Collinson, and the
leaves proved so like those of the lettuce, that he apprehended
some mistake, till the beautiful powers came forth.

CROCUS.

Crocus, a Latin name> translated by Ainsworth, a Saf-
fron j" also "the yellow chives in the midst of flowers."

Saffron, the xeox«s of the Greeks— Crocus, of the La-
tin— Zajffbran, or Zah afaran, of the Arabians, (from which
last, according to Skinner, comes its English name of Saffron,)
and Carcom, of the Hebrews, who held it in much estima-
tion. It has been greatly celebrated in ancient times, both
by physicians and poets.

We are told that the Saffron of the shops, is the odorous
aromatic stigmas of the Crocus sativus, or officinalis, a na-
tive of Greece, and Asia Minor. Which, since its introduc-
tion into England, has been called Saffron-Walden, because
formerly cultivated chiefly near or about the town of Walden.

It is mentioned in Solomon's Song, iv. 14.

Fabulous history derives the name Crocus, from a youth
of that name, who was consumed by the ardour of his love
for the nymph Smilax, and, afterwards, changed into the
flower bearing his name.

Crocus, and Smilax,* may be turn'd to flow'rs,
And the Curetesf spring from bounteous show'rs,
I pass a hundred legends, stale as these,
And, with sweet novelty, your taste will please.

Eusdcn's Ovid.

The Crocus is one of the earliest spring flowers.
There is, also, an autumnal variety. The colours of the
flowers are purple, yellow, white, &tc.

Fair handed Spring unbosoms every grace,
Throws out the Snow drop, and the Crocus first.

Thomson.

The general character of Crocus is a spathe transparent-
ly membranous, one or two-leaved. Corolla monopetalous,
funnel-shaped; tube very long, six-parted, superior; border
with six ovate oblong, nearly equal divisions.

CROWN IMPERIAL.

Fritillaria Imperialis.

Fritillaria, from fritillus, which some take for a chess-
board, and which, in that sense, alludes to the chequered na-
ture of the petals.

Fritillus, however, is used by Juvenal and Persius for a
dice-box, and is supposed to have expressed the rattling sound
of the dice.

Fritillus — A dice-box to throw dice out of.

Jlinsworth.

The common Fritillaria, or chequered lily, F. JWelea-
gris, is regularly chequered with purple, or with different
whites.

Note* Smilax was also changed into a plant of the same name, said
by the ancients to be the Ytw Tree — she having pined away for the love
of Crocus. — Modern botanists give Smilax as the generic name of a fa-
mily of plants, in which the Medicinal Sarsaparilla, or Smilax Sarsa-
parilla, is included.

f Curetes, a people of Crete, who, according to Ovid, were produced
from rain. They -were also called Corybantes — and were entrusted with
the education of Jupiter — and, afterwards, made priests and favourite
ministers of Rhea, or Cybele.

The Fritillaria is a native of Persia, and was, for some
time, called in Europe Lilium Persicum, but, as there was
already another Persian lily growing in the European gar-
dens, it was changed to Corona Imperialis, or Crown Im-
perial, by Alphonsus Paucius, Physician to the Duke of Flo-
rence. This title appears to have been adopted in all the
European languages.

Modern botanists have since bestowed the name of Fritil-
laria on a family of plants, of which this is, from its noble de-
portment and brilliancy of colouring, considered the sovereign.

" The Lily's height bespoke command,

A fair imperial flower;
She seem'd design'd for Flora's hand.

The sceptre of her power."

The F. Imperialis has a large scaly bulb root — Herb of
very quick growth, fetid, two or three feet high, succulent
or juicy, of a fine shining green, consisting of a thick, simple,
straight, leafy stem. Leaves scattered, linear-oblong, twisted.
Flowers a circle of tulip-shaped corollas turned downwards,
which have the appearance of so many gay bells, the stigma
answering for the clapper; the whole being crowned by a
coma, or tuft of green leaves, gives it a singular and agree-
able effect. The colours most admired are the orange,
lemon, and brilliant red. — There is a variety with variegated
leaves, and one with a red stem.

But to breathe fragrance on the morn,
Proud gorgeous flower, was never thine.

Fables of Flora.

Then heed ye not the dazzling gem
That gleams in Fritillaria's diadem. Evans.

COMMON CYPRESS.
Cupressus sempervirens.

Cupressus, from two Greek words, xua, to produce, and
T*£i<ro; equal, alluding to the regularity of its branches.

Cypress, E. — L. cupressus, from the Greek xujr«(;i<nro;.

Or, according to Ovid, from Cyparissus, a Youth be-
loved by Apollo, who, in grief at having inadvertently killed
the favourite stag of his friend, requested of the Gods, that
his mourning might be made perpetual, and was by Apollo
changed into a Cypress Tree, the branches of which were
always used at funerals.

Himself he would have slain thro' desp'rate grief:
What said not Phoebus, that might yield relief !
To cease his mourning, he, the boy desir'd,
Or mourn no more than such a loss requir'd.
But he, incessant griev'd : at length address'd
To the superior pow'rs a last request;
Praying, in expiation of his crime,
Thenceforth to mourn to all succeeding time.

* * # #

Apollo sad look'd on, and, sighing, cry'd
Then, be for ever, what thy pray'r imply'd;
Bemoan'd by me, in others grief excite ;
And still preside at ev'ry fun'ral rite.

Congreve's Ovid.

Amid the throng of this promiscuous wood,
With pointed top, the taper Cypress stood;
A tree, which once a Youth, and heav'nly fair,
Was of that deity the darling care,
Whose hand adapts, with equal skill, the strings
To bows with which he kills, and harps to which he
sings. Congreve's Ovid.

" The Cypress is the emblem of mourning." Shaks.

The Cypress, that darkly shades the grave,
Is sorrow that mourns its bitter lot.

Percival.

On account of the gloomy hue of its leaves, especially in
winter, it was esteemed by the ancients a suitable ornament
of their burial places. — It was held sacred to Pluto and
Proserpine.

The common European Cypress, C. sempervirens, has
two varieties, the pyramidal, and spreading, or horizontal.
It is said to be a long-lived tree. — According to an assertion
of Pliny's, there were, in his time, cypress trees growing at
Rome, which were more ancient than the city itself. — We
are told, that the gates of St. Paul's church at Rome, made of
cypress-wood, had lasted from the time of Constantine, 1100
years, as fresh as new, when Pope Eugenius IV, ordered
gates of brass in their stead. Many of the chests which en-
closed the Egyptian mummies, are made of Cypress, afford-
ing a decisive proof of its almost incorruptible nature. The
wood is capable of a fine polish, and, being fragrant, it is es-
teemed for some species of light cabinet work. — Its little
branches are quadrangular. Leaves imbricated in four rows,
obtuse, depressed, convex; strobiles globular; scales a wnless.

The American species of this genus in most estimation
is the C. Disticha, Deciduous Cypress— sometimes called
Bald Cypress. It is one of the largest trees in North
America, being found, sometimes, seventy feet high, thirty
feet in circumference at the surface of the ground, and twenty-
six, at the height of six feet. Its branches extend almost
horizontally. Leaves acute, in two rows, and very near to-
gether on the little branches, whence they have been com-
pared to the leaves of Acacia. Cones larger, with stronger
scales than those of the common Cypress. Its wood is light,
fine grained, and, after being exposed to the light, of a reddish
colour, and very durable, Delaware, may be assumed as its
northern boundary. East Florida abounds in it. Cypress
shingles are in great estimation, and are said to last forty
years.

DAFFODIL.
Great Yellow Daffodil.

Narcissus Major.

(For Narcissus, see note on that flower.)
Daffodil — supposed, by Skinner, to be corrupted from
Jlsphodelus. And Jlsphodelus is defined by Ainsworth, to
be the Daffodil of two sorts, white and yellow.

The Flora Historica tells us that " this flower was
evidently considered a kind of Lily by early writers, and wo
are of opinion that the name is a corruption of Dis's Lily, as

it is supposed to be the flower dropped from the chariot of
that god in his flight with Proserpine."

Shakspeare, in his Winter's Tale, alludes to this story,
as well as to the early season in which the Daffodil appears.

" O Proserpina

For the flowers now, that frighten'd, thou let'st fall
From Dis's wagon; Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty."

Drayton, in his Pastorals, makes Daffodillies and Li-
lies the same: —

See that there be stores of lilies,
(Called by shepherds, daffodillies.)

The Daffodil, and Jonquil, are varieties of the JVarcis-
sus, though the names are often used indiscriminately.

Narcissus Major, is a native of Spain. Common, with
double flowers in gardens — rarely seen single. It is the
largest of the genus, and has the most magnificent flowers,
bearing its fine golden chalice, amidst petals of the same
colour, on a stalk two feet high. Cup of the nectary bell-
shaped, erect, the length of the oblong oblique petals; its
margin spreading, lobed, (divided) and crisped. Leaves,
twisted, somewhat glaucous.

DAHLIA.

Dahlia.

Dahlia, named by the late Professor Cavanilles, in ho-
nour of Andrew Dahl, a Swedish botanist, author of a little
volume of botanical observations.

There are several species of Dahlia, all natives of moun-
tainous parts of the Spanish settlements in South America.
Their flowers are large and handsome, something like those
of a Sun-flower, but the rays mostly red, or purple, like the
China-Aster, and likewise variable in this respect. The
herbage is coarse and rank, with compound leaves.

It is an autumnal flower; first introduced into England
by Lady Bute, who procured it from Madrid in the same year
that it had arrived from America — but lost sight of till re-
introduced by Lady Holland, in the year 1804. The first
introduction marked the year when France became revolu-
tionized, the second, that which saw Napoleon made Em-
peror of the French nation.

By cultivation these flowers have had their petals dou-
bled and quadrupled, until they have become as full as the
China-Aster, whilst their colours have been even more in-
creased than their petals.

Gen. cha. a double Calyx; the outer of many leaves.
Corolla, radiant, compound, its rays equal in number to the
segments of the calyx; ovate, three-toothed; receptacle chaf-
fy; stigmas downy.

DAISY.
Bellis.

Sellis, Latin— formed from lellus, pretty or handsome.
English, Daisy. R, E.

Fabulous history informs us that it owes its origin to
Belides, grand daughter to Danaus, one of the nymphs
called Dryads, that presided over the meadows and pastures,
in ancient times.

Belides, whilst dancing on the grass with Ephigeus, (a
rural Deity, whose suit she encouraged,) attracted the admi-
ration of Vertumnus, (the Deity who presided over the
spring and orchards,) and to escape from him she was trans-
formed into the humble plant bearing her name.

Chaucer affirms that the fair queen Jllceste, (wife of Ad-
metus, king of Pherae, in Thessaly,) who sacrificed her own
life to preserve that of her husband, was, for this admirable
proof of unbounded affection, transformed into this beautiful
flower, the Daisy.

The English name of Daisy is derived from a Saxon
word, meaning Day's eye, in which way it is written by Ben
Johnson. And Chaucer calls it the " ee of the dale ." No
doubt from the habit of the flower of closing its petals at
night; which it also does in rainy weather.

Star of the mead ! sweet daughter of the day,
Whose opening flower invites the morning ray.
From thy moist cheek and bosom's chilly fold,
To kiss the tears of eve, the dew-drops cold.

Sweet Daisy. Leyden.

When smitten by the morning ray,
I see thee rise alert and gay,
Then cheerful flower! my spirits play
With kindred gladness:

And, when at dark, by dews opprest,
Thou sink'st, the image of thy rest
Hath often eased my pensive breast
Of careful sadness. Wordsworth.

The little daizie, that at evening closes. Spencer.

O'er waste and woodland, rock and plain,

Its humble buds unheeded rise;
The rose, has but a summer reign,

The daisy, never dies. James Montgomery.

The gen. cha. of the Daisy, is, a common calyx; Co-
rolla, compound radiate; corollules, tubular, numerous in the
disk.

DANDELION.
Leontodon taraxacum.

Leontodon, L., derived from the Greek J.SMV, XESVTO;, a
lion, and e J:u,-, a tooth, and so called from a similarity in the
shape of its jagged leaves to the teeth of a lion.

The English name Dandelion, which is a corruption of
dent de Lion, is expressive of the same idea, and might, pos-
sibly, have given rise to its botanical name.

£f- The specific name, Taraxacum, or Taraxacon, is
a name used by the Arabians, supposed by Ambrosini to have
been derived from the Greek Tea>j«A«f, eatable, because the
plant to which it was applied (our Dandelion, or something

nearly akin to it) was used for food. De Theis derives it
from the Greek T*?a<r<ra., to move, or trouble.

Leontodon taraxacum, or common Dandelion, is escu-
lent— its leaves, when blanched, have the taste of endive,
and, boiled, in their green state, is an excellent and whole-
some vegetable. At Gottingen, the roots are roasted, and
substituted for coffee.

The leaves, roots, flowers, and juice of dandelion, have
all been employed for medicinal purposes.

It is one of the plants that may be most certainly de-
pended on as to the hour of opening and closing its flowers.
Flora's best time-piece. The flowers of this habit are styled
by Linnaeus the Horologne, or watch of Flora.

" Leontodons unfold,

On the swarth turf, their ray -encircled gold;
With Sol's expanding beam the flowers unclose.
And rising Hesper lights them to repose."

She, enamoured of the sun,
At his departure hangs her head and weeps,
And shrouds her sweetness up, and keeps

Sad vigils like a cloistered nun,

'Till his reviving ray appears,
Waking her beauty, as he dries her tears. Moore.

Thus in each flower and simple bell,

That in our path betrodden lie,
Are sweet remembrancers, who tell

How fast their winged moments fly.

Charlotte Smith.

The dandelion blooms early in the spring, and continues
throughout the summer.

" Nor yet alone to full-robed spring confined,
Around her brow the crown of flame they bind,
But scattered still o'er summer's tawny vest,
Their lingering sweets regale the insect guest."

The Dandelion, has terminal, golden-coloured flowers.
A double calyx, imbricated, oblong. Corolla, compound,
imbricated, uniform; florets numerous, equal, each of one
petal, with five teeth. Receptacle naked, dotted. Down
stalked, hairy. Leaves radical, toothed, smooth.

DEW PLANT.

Mezembryanthemum.
(See Ice Plant.)

There are more than fifty Fig Marygolds, or Mezem-
bryanthemums, cultivated. Some of them have less of the
frosted appearance noticed in the Ice plant — and are called
Dew plants — appearing moist, and cool, as if wet with dew.

The JVf. Barbatus, Trailing Bearded Fig Marygold, is
one of those most common in green-houses, and even in the
garret window of many an humble collector. It throws out
its trailing stems over the flower-pot, bearing a very small
bright reddish purple Jlower. Leaves remote, somewhat
ovate, tumid, flattish above. Branches smooth, slender,

straggling. Calyx, five cleft. Petals numerous, linear, co-
hering at the base.

The JVf. Hispidum, is another of the Dew plants. —
Leaves cylindrical, blunt. Branches hairy. Flowers larger
than the last, and of the same colour.

It will be observed that no particular species has been
designated, thereby giving a wider field for selection, when
the plant is to be used.

DOGWOOD.
Cornus.

Cornus, from the Greek x?»v£ia, so called from the
horny toughness of the wood.

Ainsworth defines Cornus, 1. The cornel tree, called
the dog-tree, or wild cherry.

Johnson — Dogwood, a species of cornelian cherry.

There are several varieties indigenous in North Ameri-
ca. That designated as belonging to Virginia — C. florida, or
Virginia Dogwood, grows to the height of from ten to twenty
feet. Leaves opposite, egg-shaped, acuminate, green above,
glaucous beneath, petioled. Flowers small, yellow; leaves of
the involucre two inches broad or more, greenish white, some-
times rose-coloured, resembling petals, a little tomentous,
ending in a short point, and appearing as if nipped almost
double near the tip, which makes them seem emarginate and
heart-shaped; peduncles one-flowered, forming close lateral
and terminal umbels.

EGLANTINE, English.— EGLANTERIA, Latin.
European Sweet-Briar.

Rosa rubiginosa.
(For Rosa, see Austrian Rose.)

" Eglanteria, corrupted from the French Eglentier, or
Eglantier, of whose derivation we are ignorant.

Lamarck's Flora Fran$oise, has been examined in vain,
for the derivation, or meaning of the word Eglantier. And
we perceive that he has taken the orange coloured variety of
Rosa lutea, or Austrian Rose, for Linnxus' rubiginosa, or
European Sweet Briar.

We retain the name of Rosa rubiginosa for our Euro-
pean Sweet Briar, as being indisputably certain, peculiarly
expressive, and now sanctioned by Jacquin, Roth, Willde-
now, indeed, by general use." Rees' Enc.

Skinner, who has just been examined, offers the follow-
ing etymology: "Eglantine, Belgic Eghelentier, Franco.
Gallic, Esglantier, Jliglantier, Jlnglantine, Cynosbatus, [the
eglantine] the wild rose. J\linshei*$ I know not how well,
derives it from the Latin and Greek, Echinus, (an urchin,
or hedge-hog: a sea-urchin, being a kind of crab-fish, with
prickles instead of feet: also the rough prickly shells of ches-
nuts) because it is thorny. I prefer, rather, to derive it from
the Latin *1cidcus, (a prickle, as in thorns, herbs, burs, hedge-
hogs, &c.) as it were, Jlculeantinus (prickly) for it is defend-
ed by many thorns. It may also be speciously derived from
the Belgic Eghel, a hedge-hog; but it returns to the same
point, for this undoubtedly takes its rise from the Latin, JLcu-
leus (a prickle, 8tc.) and this animal is, in truth, furnished by
nature with prickles."

Lemon, after quoting, in part, this etymology of Skin-

-4.

-*>

ner, adds, " So near was the Doctor to the true origin of this
word that he would not see it; for aculcus is, undoubtedly,
derived from (the Greek word) ax*, or £X>(, (in Latin,) acies
(the sharp edge, or point of any thing,) whence a cus (a nee-
dle,) acutus (sharp) aculeus (a prickle) sharp pointed, like a
needle: the Sweet Briar, therefore, seems to have received its
name of Eglantine, from, the sharpness of its thorns."

Rubiginosa, one of its meanings is florid.

The common Sweet Briar Rose, or Eglantine, has flow-
ers of a sweet scent, and a full and uniform pink colour: oc-
casionally double, and sometimes pale, or whitish. The stem
branched, about a yard high, with copious, broad, strongly
hooked prickles, of a pale brown, all over its green branches.
Leaflets five or seven, of a roundish, elliptical figure, with
strong, double, glandular serratures; their upper surface
bright green, slightly hairy; the under, clothed with reddish
viscid glands, and delightfully fragrant. Fruit, scarlet, inter-
nally mealy and insipid.

There is a small-flowered Sweet Briar, R. Micrantha,
with paler flowers, and smaller, the least of all the British
Roses, that is sometimes mistaken for the JR. Rubiginosa.

Poetry is full of the fragrance of the Eglantine.

Come, gentle air,

And with the jasmine's breath divine,

Convey the woodbine's rich perfume,

Nor spare the sweet-leafed eglantine. Smith.

No, nor the leaf of Eglantine, whom not to slander,
Out-sweeten'd not thy breath. Shaks.

And the fresh eglantine exhaled a breath,
Whose odours were of power to raise from death.

Dryden's Chaucer.

ELDER.

Sambucus nigra.

Sambucus, L. from the Greek <r»/j/3ox», an instrument of
music, in the construction of which, this tree is used, on ac-
count of its hardness; so says De Theis.

(See Rees' Encyclopedia .)

Elder, E., German holder, or hohlunder. It seems to
be named from hollowness. Webster.

The common Elder, S. Nigra, is a low bushy tree or
shrub, with smooth pithy branches. Leaves opposite, une-
qual, pinnate; leaflets generally five, smooth. Stipules,
scarcely any. Cymes, terminal, in five principal branches,
many flowered. Flowers, milk-white, fragrant, generally
stalked. Stamens divaricated. Berries globular , dark pur-
ple, sweetish, but unpleasant in the crude state. This tree
is, as it were, a whole magazine of physic to rustic practition-
ers. The inner bark, flowers, leaves, berries, all have their
peculiar medicinal virtues.

The Sambucus niger, very abundant in the United
States.

EVERLASTING.

Gnaphalium.

Gnaphalium, L. from the Greek yva$«;uov, an ancient
Greek name; from yvap^ov, soft down or wool, alluding to
the wooliness of the herbage.

The Latins called it Gnaphalium, from the downy or
cottony nature of the leaves or stalks, which they collected
to fill their couches and matresses, instead of wool or flocks.
Pliny tells us that it was also called Chamcezelon, which sig-
nifies low or ground cotton; and it was sometimes named JLl-
binum, from the whiteness of the leaves and stalks.

The American Everlasting, or Eternal Flower, G. mar-
garitaceum, has white flowers. It also grows wild, in Wales,
and is there used to adorn the graves of the departed ; elegant-
ly alluding to immortality, by the unfading nature of its flow-
ers, and to spotless purity by their snowy whiteness.

The Everlasting flower which the French call Immor-
telle, the G. orientate — is in such demand in Paris, ever since
the hill of Pere la Chaise has been converted into a ceme-
tery, for that city, as not only to give employment to many
hands in its cultivation, but numerous families are regularly
occupied, and entirely supported by forming these flowers
into garlands and crosses, which are offered for sale near the
entrance of burial grounds.

It is stated to be a native of Africa, therefore improperly
called G. orientate. Gerard styles it Golden Mother Wort,
or cud-weed. And he describes the flowers as standing "on
the top of the stalkes ioined togither in tuftes of a yellow
colour, glittering like gold, in forme resembling the scalie
flowers of Tansie."

The ancients crowned the images of their gods with gar-
lands made of these flowers, and, hence, they were frequently
called God's flowers. In Spain, and Portugal, they are still
used to decorate the altars, and images of saints.

As an ornament for the saloon, or head dress, the G.
orientate is, in modern times, frequently dyed of various
colours.

The general character of the flowers- of this genus, is,
a common Calyx, imbricated, its inner scales rounded, sca-
riose, coloured. Corolla compound; florets of the disk, fun-
nel-shaped, in five equal reflexed marginal segments. Re-
ceptacle, naked.

FEVER ROOT.
Eupatorium.

Eupatorium, from Mithridates, surnamed Eupator,
who is reported to have brought this plant into use, as a
counter poison. He was the seventh king of that name who
reigned over the province of Pontus in Asia Minor. His am-
bition and cruelty raised up many enemies; and his habit
was, by drinking antidotes against poison, to fortify his con-
stitution against their attempts to destroy him.

Eupatorium, is a large genus chiefly, though not entire-
ly, American. Roots perennial. Stems sometimes shrubby.
Leaves opposite, mostly simple, and strongly serrated. Flow-
ers corymbose, terminal, numerous, white, bluish, or reddish.
Whole plant, roughish, bitter, or aromatic.

Several of the American species are esteemed, on ac-
count of their aromatic and bitter qualities. Among these are
E. Sessitifolium, E. Perfoliatum, and E. Jlromaticum.

BALM OF GILEAD FIR.

Pinus Balsamea.
(For Pinus, see Pine.)
Pinus balsamea, is a native of Canada, Nova Scotia,

.*.-

New England, and the Alleghany Mountains, in high cold
situations. Leaves solitary, flat, imperfectly two-ranked.
Cones cylindrical, erect, with short pointed scales, when full
grown, of a beautiful violet hue, and exuding a plenty of can-
died turpentine, or balsam, as does the trunk when wounded
Its fragrant exudation is the well known Canada balsam,
which some quacks celebrate as Balm of Gilead.

The stamens and pistils of all cone-bearing plants are in
separate flowers, either on the same, or on different plants;
they produce resins, and many of them are supposed to supply
the most durable timber, as the Cypress and Cedar.

Venice-Turpentine is obtained from the larch. San-
darach from the common Juniper; and Incense from a ju-
niper with yellow fruit.

[See Darwin's Notes to Loves of the Plants.]

FOX GLOVE.
Digitalis.

Digitalis, from Digitale, the finger of a glove. The name
given first by Fuchsius, and hence the plant is called Digita-
lis Fuchsii.

The D. purpurea, or Purple British Fox-glove, is the
species best known. It grows in various parts of Europe.
The Root is biennial. Stem erect, about three or four feet
high. Leaves large, ovate, crenate, downy. Flowers nu-
merous, in a long simple spike, large, crimson, sometimes
white, elegantly sprinkled with eye-like spots within. It is a
dangerous plant, from its strongly narcotic power — yet a
valuable medicine in careful hands.

The Fox-glove on fair Flora's hand is worn,

Lest while she gathers flowers she meet a thorn.

Cowley.
FUCHSIA.

Fuchsia, so named by Plumier, in honour of Leonard
Fuchsius, a distinguished German Physician and Botanist,
particularly celebrated for his figures of plates. Born, at
Wembding in Bavaria, in 1501.

The species chiefly cultivated, are the F. Coccinea, a
native of Chili, S. A. It is a shrub of from three to six feet
high, smooth in all its parts, and much branched. Leaves,
two or three, rarely four, together; an inch or more in length,
rather distantly toothed; pale and shining beneath. Calyx
scarlet. Petals violet, obovate, and blunt. Stamens, and
style scarlet, hanging far out of the flower. Berries dark
purple. The young branches and leaves have the veins
tinged with a fine crimson colour. Although a gree"' '-house
plant, it will bear the open garden in a well sheltered si-
tuation.

The F. Triphylla, or three-leaved Fuchsia, is a native
of the West Indies: an herbaceous plant of more diminutive
growth. Leaves three together in a whorl. The Calyx
about an inch and a half long, scarlet, as well as the petals.
Berries almost globular, and rather larger than a common
black Currant.

GERANIUM.
Pelargonium.

Pelargonium, L. from the Greek n-sx^yo;, a stork, in
allusion to the beak of the fruit, resembling the bill of that

bird, as well as to preserve an analogy with the Geranium,
or Crane's Bill; the Greek word r^xvoj, signifying a Crane.

Pelargonium, embraces what are commonly known by
the appellation of Jlfrican Geraniums, and which, doubt-
less, constitute a genus clearly distinguished from the Eu-
ropean and American Geranium, by the irregularity of the
flower, and its tubular nectary, to say nothing of the number
of stamens.

It is the African Geranium, that is most generally cul-
tivated in our green-houses, for the beauty of its flowers,
and fragrance of its foliage.

The Crane's Bill Geranium, is of the same Class and
Order as Pelargonium, except that it has 10 stamens, De-
candria, instead of 7, Heptandria.

The only Crane's Bill Geranium, introduced into this
collection, is the Geranium Maculatum, or Spotted Crane's
Bill. — An American plant of such highly medicinal virtues,
as to recommend it to our attention, and which ought to be
in every garden, being esteemed the best known styptic in
the whole JYIateria JWedica; having produced wonderful
cures when applied to wounded or ruptured blood-vessels.
It has not much beauty to recommend it, yet its retiring
and modest worth, so generally overlooked in the gay sa-
loon, may well be supposed to excite something like envy of
its more favoured rivals.

The G. JVLaculatum may be found abundantly in our
meadows and woods. The one with purple flowers, has
downy leaves, with five lobes or scollops, and these divided
into small indentures. The leaves of the blue, are wrinkled
and divided deeply into many parts or fingers. The stalks
supporting the delicate blue flowers, are long and slender,
from six inches to a foot high. They, both, have a flower
with a single cup, or Calyx, of five leaves. Corolla of five
petals ; ten stamens alternately longer and shorter; one pointal,
terminated by five stigmas. Fruit, five dry berries furnished
with a bill, each, containing a single seed, crowned with a
tail or awn, which rolls up in a spiral form, when the seed
becomes ripe. The root, which is the part used medicinally,
is generally crooked and knotty, blackish or reddish on the
outside, with a roughish taste, and aromatic flavour.

Hemlock-leaved, and Musk Crane's BUI, of this ge-
nus, have but five stamens.

The general character of the Pelargonium, is a Peri-
anth, inferior, in five deep, oblong, permanent segments, the
uppermost elongated at the base into a nectariferous tube,
running down the flower-stalk. Petals five, irregular, ob-
long, spreading, longer than the calyx. Filaments ten, un-
equal, three of them, rarely five, abortive. Fruit beaked, of
five aggregate capsules, each tipped with a long spiral awn,
bearded on the inside. The foliage of the different species
is too varied and multifarious for description, and too well
known to require it. We will therefore take our leave of

Genteel Geranium,
With a leaf for all that come.

Hunt.

GILLY FLOWER.
Cheiranthus. Incanus.
Cheiranthus, from the Arabic fceirt, altered by Linnaeus

into a name with a Greek form, from the Greek %i,(, a hand,
and KV^OS, a flower.

Incanus, from the hoary white of its branches.

Gilly-Flower, either corrupted from July-flower, or
from the French giroflee. (See Johnson.)

In July come gilly-flowers of all varieties. Bacon.

The Gilly-Flower is a native of the sea coast in France
and Spain. Cultivation has produced numerous varieties;
the principal ones are Queen's stock gilly-flower, with bright
red, or carmine coloured flowers, and the Brompton stock,
with large purple flowers, and the white stock; there are also
other varieties, as the variegated stock, 6tc.

The Root perennial, sometimes biennial. Stem, from
15 to 18 inches high, branched, hoary. Leaves, scattered,
long, soft, clothed with a short down. Flowers, sweet scent-
ed, four petaled, cruciform; petals roundish, longer than the
calyx; claws, length of the calyx. The calyx, a four-leaved
perianth.

The Stock Gilly-Flower, and Wall-Flower, are of the
same genus.

Fair is the gilly-flow'r of gardens sweet,
Fair is the marigold, for pottage meet.

And lavish stock, that scents the garden round.

Gay.

Thomson.

GOLDEN ROD, or VIRGA ATJREA.

Solidago.

Solidago, from solido, to make firm, and particularly to
heal a wound. From its reputed efficacy in healing wounds,
and other medicinal properties, it ranked among the most
expensive drugs, about the middle of the sixteenth century,
though not much in repute in modern times.

Fifty-one American species have been ascertained.
There is but one indigenous to Great Britain, but this is sub-
ject to many varieties. They are all perennial, mostly her-
baceous.

The flowers yellow, with very few exceptions.

" In golden armour glorious to behold."

Several species of the Tree Golden Rod, have been
brought from St. Helena, with white flowers.

"Nor shines the silver Moon one half so bright
Through the transparent bosom of the deep."

The name "Golden Rod, or Virga Aurea," suggested
the emblem, as well as the illustrations attached to the flower;
as also, the following note from the first edition of Flora's
Dictionary.

" Le Gendre tells us, that in the first race of the French
Kings the sceptre was a golden rod, almost always of the
same height with the king who bore it, and crooked at one
end, like a crozier." The sceptre is an ensign of royalty, of
greater antiquity than the crown.

Mercury's famous Caduce, or Wand, is called Virga.
That Wand, which was supposed to possess the power of
deciding controversies, composing differences, raising the
dead, &c.

The Caduceus found on medals, is a common symbol,
signifying good-conduct, peace, and prosperity. The rod ex-
presses power, the two serpents, prudence, the wings, dili-
gence.

GRAPE VINE.

Vitis Vinifera.

Vitis, a Vine, usually derived from vieo, to bind with
twigs, to hoop, to bend, to tie up — in allusion to the flexibili-
ty of its branches. " De Theis traces it to the Celtic Gwid,
a tree or shrub, as being the chief, or best of trees. Gwin,
is the name for wine, in the same language ; from whence
comes, evidently enough, the Greek word for wine Oivo;, La-
tin Vinum, English Wine." Rees' Enc.

The specific name Vinifera, L. is from Vinea, a vine,
or Vinum, wine.

The English name Grape, is from the root of grab,
gripe, and signifies primarily a cluster or bunch. Welsh
grab, a cluster, a grape. French grappe de raisin, a bunch
of grapes. Webster.

Bacchus, the God of Wine, who first taught the use of
the Vine, is represented crowned with Vine and Ivy leaves.

According to Pliny, he was the first who ever wore a
crown.

The Fig-tree, Ivy, and Yew-tree, were also sacred to
him.

Let dimpled mirth his temples twine,
With tendrils of the laughing vine.

Scott.

According to Plutarch, the Grape Vine sprang from the
blood of the Giants, who having made war on the Gods, had
perished in battle. The Egyptians never drank wine; they
held the liquor to be the blood of the giants; nor did they
offer it in libations, thinking it odious to the Gods.

[See Beloe's Herodotus, Euterpe.']

Nor were the Gods, themselves, more safe above;
Against beleaguer'd heav'n the Giants move.
Hills pil'd on hills, on mountains mountains lie,
To make their mad approaches to the sky.
Till Jove, no longer patient, took his time
Tjravenge, with thunder, their audacious crime;
Red lightning play'd along the firmament,
And their demolish'd works to pieces rent.
Singed with the flames, and with the bolts transfix'd,
With native earth, their blood the monsters mixt.

Dryden's Ovid.

The Vitls Vinifera, or common Grape Vine, is found
naturalized at least, in most parts of the more temperate
climes of the globe. The cultivated Vine, sports an endless
variety, in the shape, colour, and flavour of the fruit. The
Flowers are very numerous, small, green, and with a fra-
grance resembling that of the Mignonette.

GRASS.

Gramen, or Gramma.

The Latin word gramen is supposed to be derived from
gradiens, going or proceeding along, in allusion to the great
increase of many of these plants by their creeping roots.
Linnseus has remarked that " Grasses are the most general of
plants, constituting almost a sixth part of all the vegetables
on our globe.1'

Grass, E. from the Greek xe»rTi;, definition gramen L.
(grass) foenum L. (hay.) Hence (says Schrevelius) the
English word grass. This Greek word xe«<rn;, is also put
as a theme, or etymon, that is, an original, and not a deri-
vative, nor compound word. Schrevelius adds, it is the
same as grastis, and defines grastis, gramen (L.) deriving it
from ygxa (Gr.) because it is the food of cattle.

The verb y?»» (Gr.) is defined to eat, and is conjugated
yt*<», ye*<«, ty-fxra — "whence, perhaps, the English to graze,
to feed on herbs."

The creeping roots of grasses, or gramina, are mostly
fibrous, rarely tuberous, or bulbous. They consist of nume-
rous joints and knots, each of which has its bud, capable of
producing a new stem, and the more they are separated by
the heavy tread of cattle, the more they multiply. The more
their herbage is cropped, the better they thrive, and extend
themselves the more under ground. In confined and woody
places they scarcely creep, but grow erect. The Author of
Nature has protected these plants, by giving them such hard
stems, while they are perfecting, their seed, that cattle cannot
readily attack them in that state.

Some species of grass, which, in moist situations, emit
fibrous roots alone, will, in more uncongenial and dry ones,
form bulbs, whereby a reservoir of nutriment is secured
against the occurrence of an irregular supply of the juices
for its sustenance.

The roots of large trees, also, in unpropitious situations,
have been observed to vary their natural mode of growth,
most materially, in conformity with their need of nourish-
ment.

There are upwards of three hundred species of Grasses
— in which are included the Rye, Barley, Wheat, Oat, &tc.
They are distinguished by their narrow tapering leaves —
their cylindrical or hollow stems, which are jointed, or sepa-
rated into distinct portions by knots.

They were first divided into Corn and Grasses, but the
former differ from the latter, merely, in the greater size of
their seeds, which compose the basis of our aliment, as the
smallest of the grass-seeds nourish small birds.

The Roman crown of grass or herbs found on the
ground in the place besieged, was given by common consent
of the soldiers, to generals who had delivered a Roman army
besieged by the enemy, and obliged him to decamp. It was
called Corona Graminea obsidionalis.

About his temples grass they tie,

Himself that so behaved,
In some strong siege by the enemy

A city that had saved. Drayton.

In Herodotus, we find Grass the symbol of Submission.

" Amongst the ancient Nations of the West, to show that
they confessed themselves overcome, or that they surrender-
ed at discretion, they gathered some Grass, and presented it
to the conqueror. By this action they resigned all the claims
they possessed to their country. In the time of Pliny, the
Germans still observed this custom.

(See note to 4 Book, Melpomene.)

HAWTHORN.

Cratsegus.
Jl. Mespilus.

Mespilus, from the Greek pta-nt^, the Medlar tree.

Hawthorn, from the Saxon hag-thorn, or hedge-thorn,
a species of Medlar; the thorn that bears haws; the white-
thorn. (See Johnson and Webster.)

Cratxgus, from the Greek xe*T«.yo;, definition the wild
service tree.

In commencing our examination of this plant, we are re-
ferred to Cratxgus, for a description of the Hawthorn. Un-
der this article there are several species described, which
are, also, to be found under the article Mespilus, to which
we are referred for the Class, Order, &tc. Mespilus, is
therefore (as I understand it) the generic name, embracing
all the varieties of Medlar and Hawthorn; and Cratsegus
confined to the Hawthorn.

The Mespilus is native to America, and Europe, and
varies, in height, from a shrub, to a tall tree. That which pro-
duces the smallest leaves is preferred for hedges, because its
branches grow close together. The thorns of the whole ge-
nus are long and sharp.

" The Cratxgus of Linnaeus, is distinguished from his
Mespilus, solely by the former having but two styles, and,
occasionally, on the same tree some flowers with but one;
while the latter has five." They are sometimes mentioned
as the same tree.

Men have gatherM from hawthorn's branch
Large medlars, imitating crowns.

Phillips.

The fruit of the Medlar is said to be eatable only when
age or decay has mellowed it.

Rotten ere half ripe,
And that's the right virtue of the medlar. Shaks.

Haw, the berry, or seed of the hawthorn, is also noticed.

The seed of the bramble with 'kernel and haw.

Tusser.

Store of haws and hips portend cold winters.

Bacon.

The fruit of the Medlar, is generally brown, or red-
dish; that of the Hawthorn, scarlet, yellow, or red. The
flowers of both, white; sometimes doubled in the Hawthorn,
and rose coloured; as in the common Hawthorn, Cratsegus
Oxycanthus.

Now hawthorns blossom, now the daisies spring.

Pope.
The hawthorn whitens. Thomson.

HEART'S EASE.

Viola Tricolor.
(For Viola, see Violet.)

Viola tricolor, or Pansy Violet, from the French pen-
see, thought.

And there are Pansies, that's for thoughts.

Shaks. Hamlet.

And thou, so rich in gentle names, appealing
To hearts that own our nature's common lot;

Thou, styl'd by sportive fancy's better feeling,
".£ thought," "the Heart's Ease," or "Forget me
not." Barton.

And faith that a thousand ills can brave,
Speaks in the blue leaves, Forget me not.

Percival.

And the Pansy freakt with jet;
The glowing violet. Milton.

The V. Tricolor, is a beautiful variety of the violet)
differing from it, in the variety of its colouring, the petals
being chiefly yellow, variegated with black and purple. Its
fragrance is very inferior, and too weak to be regarded in
a single flower. It is a native of Europe, North America,
&c. The root is annual, but it renews itself readily from the
scattering seeds, so as to keep up a continual bloom all the
year; even in the depths of winter, in a warm situation, it
may be seen beautifully contrasted with the white snow,
which surrounds it.

There are many varieties of the blue and purple Heart's
Ease to be found all over North America. I cannot forbear
giving in the Bard's own beautiful language the fanciful origin
of its colour.

I saw

Flying between the cold Moon and the Earth,
Cupid all arm'd; a certain aim he took
At a fair vestal, throned by the west;
And loos'd his love-shaft smartly from his bow,
As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts:
But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft
Quench'd in the chaste beams of the wat'ry Moon;
And the Imperial vot'ress passed on,
In Maiden meditation, fancy free.
Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell:
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white; now purple with Love's wound,
And Maidens call it Love in Idleness.
The juice of it, on sleeping eye-lids laid,
Will make or Man or Woman madly doat
Upon the next live creature that it sees.

Shaks. Mid. JV. Dream.

In gardens oft a beauteous flow'r there grows,

By vulgar eyes unnoticed, or unseen —

In sweet security it humbly blows,

And rears its purple head to deck the green.

This Flower, (as Nature's Poet sweetly sings,)
Was once milk-white, and Heart's Ease was its name,
Till wanton Cupid poised his roseate wings
A vestal's sacred bosom to inflame.

With treacherous aim the God his arrow drew,
Which she with icy coldness did repel —
Rebounding thence, with feathery speed it flew,
Till on this lovely flow'r at last it fell.

Heart's Ease no more the wand'ring shepherd found,
No more the Nymphs its snowy form possess —
Its white now changed to purple, by Love's wound,
Heart's Ease no more, 'tis " Love in Idleness."

Mrs. R. B. Sheridan.

HELIOTROPE; or, TURNSOLE.
Heliotropium.

Heliotropium, L. from the Greek >ixic;, the sun, and
re-a-oj, to turn, " because," says Dioscorides, " it turns its
leaves round with the declining sun."

This flower has been confounded with the Helianthus,
or Sun-flower, but is of a different genus. Both have had
ascribed to them the property of turning towards the sun,
and following his course round the horizon. A property not
confined to these flowers alone, as other plants do the same,
in a more or less degree, particularly when confined in a
room, turning the shining surface of their leaves, and bend-
ing their whole branches to catch the light.

It is surprising that two flowers so unlike, as the Sun-
Flower and Heliotrope, should ever have been mistaken
for each other. The blossoms of the Sun-Flower are too
well known to need a description here; those of the Helio-
trope, are very small, delicate, fragrant blossoms, generally
of a faint purple colour, or white, sometimes red, and bluish
white. It is made to be yellow, and confounded with the
Sun-flower in the following lines —

Browne.

What yellow, lovely as the golden morn,
The lupine, and the heliotrope adorn.

The snowy rose is there

A silver moon, the heliotrope a Sun!

Jlndrein's -Adam.

The fabulous account of the origin of the Heliotrope, is,
that Clytia (daughter of Oceanus) being deserted by Apollo,
with whom she was enamoured, pined away, and was changed
into a flower commonly called sun-flower, which still turns
its head towards the Sun, in his course, as in pledge of her
love. Ovid says of her —

All day, all night, in trackless wilds, alone
She pin'd and taught the list'ning rocks her moan.
On the bare earth she lies, her bosom bare,
Loose her attire, dishevell'd is her hair.

* * # #

She turn'd about, but rose not from the ground,
Turn'd to the Sun, still as he roll'd his round :

On his bright face hung her desiring eyes,

Till fix'd to earth, she strove in vain to rise.

Her looks their paleness in a flow'r retain'd,

But here and there, some purple streaks they gain'd.

Still the lov'd object the fond leaves pursue,

Still move their root, the moving Sun to view,

And in the Heliotrope the Nymph is true.

Eusden's Ovid.

The Heliotrope is a native of warm climates; growing
in India, Peru, the West Indies, South of Europe, kc. With
us, it is a green-house plant of the shrubby, and herbaceous
kinds, with annual, and biennial roots. Calyx of one leaf,
tubular, with five segments, permanent. Corolla of one pe-
tal, salver shaped, five cleft, with intermediate teeth: its
mouth without valves. Seeds naked.

HELLEBORE.
Helleborus.

Helleborus, L. The ixiu^oj, ,uix.*s of Dioscorides.
The name most probably derived from ,^stv (Gr.) to kill, and
git*, food, or fodder, in allusion to the poisonous qualities for
which it has been famous throughout antiquity. (Accord-
ing to Bergeret, it is derived from the river Eleborus.)

The Black Hellebore was used by the ancients to purify
their houses, and to hallow their dwellings. By strewing or
perfuming their apartments with this plant, they believed that
evil spirits would be expelled or driven away.

By the witches' tow'r

Where Hellebore and hemlock seem to weave
Round its dark vaults a melancholy bow'r,
For spirits of the dead at night's enchanted hour.

Campbell.

We find it, in the Materia Medica, prescribed for hy-
pochondria and mania. Burton notices it in his "Anatomy of
Melancholy."

" Borage and Hellebore fill two scenes,
Soveraigne plants to clear the veins
Of melancholy, and cheer the heart
Of those black fumes which make it smart ;
To clear the brain of misty fogs,
Which dull our senses, and soul clogs;
The best medicine that ere God made
For this malady, if well assaid."

Dainty young thing
Of life! Thou vent'rous flower
Who growest through the hard, cold bower,
Of wintry spring.

* * * *

Thy fancied bride
The delicate snow-drop keeps
Her home with thee; she wakes and sleeps
Near thy true side.

J. R. Prior.

It should never be allowed a place in the kitchen garden,

since fatal accidents have arisen from mistaking its root for
that of the horse radish.

The H. Niger, or Christmas rose, blooms in mid-win-
ter, and few plants are more elegant. The flower is some-
thing like the dog-rose — white on first opening, afterwards
with a blush of pink, and finally greenish. The foliage a
dark and shining green; leaves pedate, luxuriant. The root
perennial, externally very dark — consisting of a roundish
head, about the size of a nutmeg; from which short, articulat-
ed bunches arise, sending out numerous corrugated fibres,
about the thickness of a straw, from a span to a foot in length,
deep brown outside, white or yellow within, and of an acrid
nauseous taste.

Native of the south of Europe. In our gardens a hardy
shrub.

The Hellebore Qfficlnalis, the true Hellebore of the
ancients. The roots very like the H. Niger — the leaves
twice the breadth, and truly pedate. The flower-stalks do
not rise above the leaves, but are branched, bearing five or
six drooping, concave, white Jlowers, turning purplish as
they fade. Corolla deciduous.

The North American H Trifolius, or small three-leaf-
ed Hellebore, with twice ternate leaves, and green flowers,
is a very pretty plant.

The H. Hyemalis, Winter Hellebore, or Yellow Win-
ter Aconite, a little herbaceous plant, with a yellow Jlower,
whose petals are deciduous: native of Germany, Switzer-
land, and France; common in our gardens, and forming a
beautiful contrast with the snow drop which blooms about
the same time.

We are told that the powder of Black Hellebore given
as snuff, has cured diseases of the eyes; particularly that call-
ed Nyctalopia, in which the eyes become periodically dim,
usually from sunset till sunrise the next morning.

Of this plant Juvenal sarcastically observes:

" Misers need a double dose of Hellebore."

Bright as the silvery plume, or pearly shell,
The snow-white rose, or lily's virgin bell,
The fair Helleborus attractive shone,
Warm'd every sage, and every shepherd won.

Darwin.

HIBISCUS.
Venetian Mallow, or Flower of an Hour.

Hibiscus Trionum.
(For Hibiscus, see JHthsea.)

The specific name Trionum. There is a T^IOVOV in
Theophrastus, said to be one of the Mallow tribe; like the
Hibiscus in question, whose leaves, having three lobes, are
supposed to sanction the present application of this name.

Bees' Encyclopedia.

The species constituting the genus Hibiscus, are a nu-
merous tribe of the largest and finest plants of the Malva-
ceous order.

The Hibiscus Trionum, beautiful Venetian Mallow, or
Flower of an Hour, is a European species, and one of the
few that are annual. It is commonly cultivated for the ele-
gance of its flowers, which are large, sulphur coloured, with

five purple external stripes, and a violet eye, beautifully con-
trasted with the yellow anthers. The purple hairy stigmas,
too, are remarkable; as well as the bladdery hisped inner ca-
lyx. It has a double calyx — the outer .permanent, inner of
one leaf, cup-shaped, five cleft half way down, permanent.
Petals five, narrow at the base, spreading. Leaves in three
deep divisions, cut, somewhat pinnatifid.

There is a plant of mildest hue,
Whose modest visage charms the eye,
Which blooms as fair as tho' it grew
Beneath a purer, holier sky.

As mellow as the Moon's soft beam
On ocean's mirror'd breast arrayed,
Swifter it passes than a dream,
And blossoms — only but to fade.

Thus Beauty lights the Maiden's face,

With all her mildest — chastest rays,

When searing age comes on apace,

And leaves no mark of former days. S * * n.

HOLLY.

Ilex.

Ilex appears to be an original Latin word. Johnson
derives the name Holly from Holegn, Saxon, for a Tree.
Webster from Holegn, (Saxon,) the Holm tree, of the genus
Ilex. Ainsworth defines Ilex to be "a kind of oak tree,
called by some Holm: the Scarlet Oak, the Holm Oak."

Skinner suggests that the Saxon for Holly, Holegn, is
compounded of Hoi, all; and Ergc, sharp point, because it
is all sharpened, or pointed with thorns.

The Ilex of the Latin has become, in the Italian, Elice.
See Baretti's Dictionary.

The Holly is a beautiful evergreen tree, several species
of which are abundant in North America. It also grows in
many parts of Europe, Japan, &c. There is one species, na-
tive of West Florida, called South Sea Tea, the Ilex Vomi-
toria, held in great estimation by the Indians, who make a
tea of the leaves, and account it very wholesome: and it is
almost the only physic they use in those parts. The plant is
supposed to be the same with that of Paraguay, where the
Jesuits make a great revenue from the leaves.

The Holly is a tree of singular beauty, sometimes rising
to the height of twenty or thirty feet, with shining prickly
leaves and white flowers, which grow in clusters round the
branches, and are succeeded by berries of a bright scarlet
colour, containing four very hard seeds. The leaves form a
grateful food to many animals: but Nature has armed them
for self-defence against these depredators, in their sharp
prickles. And it is curious to observe, that the thorny leaves
only grow on the lower part of the tree, where they are most
liable to be destroyed; and that those above, out of the reach
of horses and cattle, have smooth leaves, as if conscious that
there they might repose in safety.

Four of the giant brood with Hex stand,
Each grasps a thousand arrows in his hand;

A thousand steely points on every scale,
Form the bright terrors of his bristly mail.

Darwin.

The bark of the common Holly, I. aquifolium, when
fermented and then washed from the woody fibres, constitutes
the common bird lime, a material somewhat similar to the
elastic gum, or Indian rubber.

HOLLYHOCK, or ROSE-MALLOW.
Jllcca rosea.

Jllcea, from the Greek Axxn, strength, aid, on account
of its reputed medicinal properties, for which it was formerly
held in great esteem.

Ainsworth defines Jllcea, a kind of wild Mallow ; marsh
mallow.

Hollyhock, its derivation may be traced to the Saxon
language; the old name of Holy oak, being the same as Holi-
Jiec, Saxon.

The Hollyhock is a native of China, Africa, Madras,
Istira, Siberia, &c. Pliny speaks of this flower in the fourth
chapter of his twenty-first book, where he describes it as a
rose growing on stalks, like a mallow. The colour of the
flowers is accidental, and the double flowers are only varieties
proceeding from culture. It is an autumnal flower of which
the Bees are fond.

From the nectaries of Hollyhocks
The humble Bee, e'en till he faints, will sip.

H. Smith.

The flowers of this genus have a double Calyx, each one-
leafed, the outer, cut half way into six parts, permanent, and
very spreading; the inner, cut half way into five parts, larger,
and permanent. The Corolla consists of five spreading pe-
tals, coalescing at their base. This description is of the
single flowered. Seed flat, kidney-shaped.

HONESTY, or SATIN FLOWER.

Lunaria.

Lunaria, from Luna, the Moon, so named on account
of the broad orbicular shape of its sUique, and its silvery semi-
transparent nature, which discovers those seed-vessels that
contain seed, from such as have none; from which last, it de-
rives its English name of Honesty.

Ainsworth defines Lunaria to be Moon- Wort, a kind
of herb used by old women for love-potions.

It was in high repute among the credulous of former
ages, as a bewitching, or enchanting herb. And we learn
from Chaucer that Lunaria was one of the plants used ID
incantations.

Then sprinkles she the juice of rue

With nine drops of the midnight dew,

From Lunary distilling. Draytorfs Jfymphia.

Enchanting Lunary here lies,

In sorceries excelling. Drayton.

This genus of plants is herbaceous, annual, biennial,

and perennial. Natives of Germany, Switzerland, fcc. They
sometimes grow to the height of three or four feet. Flowers,
crimson, lilac, &tc. Sometimes fragrant. Corolla, cruciform,
of four equal, large, undivided, obtuse petals, as long as the
Calyx, each tapering down into a claw of the same length.
Calyx, of four ovate oblong cohering leaves, of which two
opposite ones are pouched, or bagged at the base.

HONEY FLOWER.

Melianthus.

Melianthus, L. from the Greek ^KI, honey, and avS-o;,
a flower, so named from the abundance of honey which flows
from M. Major, in particular, which, if shaken whilst in
flower, distils a shower of nectar.

There are only three species noticed in the Encyclope-
dia. The M. Major, with flowers in a long spike, springing
from between the leaves towards the top of the stalks, of a
brown, or chocolate colour. The M. Minor, flowers, six
or eight in a cluster, very ornamental, variegated with green,
yellow, and red, or pink. And the M. Comosus, flowers, in
pendant clusters, on short stalks, of a yellow colour. These
are all natives of the Cape of Good Hope. Roots perennial:
growing to the height of from three to four feet.

HONEYSUCKLE; or, WOODBINE.

Lonicera,

Lonicera, so named by Liunxus, in honour of Jldam
Lonicer, an old physician and naturalist, who lived about the
middle of the sixteenth century: born at Marburg, 1528, lived
at Frankfort, and died at the age of fifty-eight. He publish-
ed two volumes, folio, in Latin, upon the Materia Medica;
and a German Herbal, with wooden cuts, which are occasion-
ally to be met with rudely coloured.

The English name Honeysuckle, is called, in Latin,
Caprifolium; first definition in Johnson, Woodbine, the
plant. 2d. The flower, or blossom, of the Woodbine. —
" Woodbine that beareth the Honeysuckle."

"A Honeysuckle

The amorous Woodbine's offspring."

(See Johnson.)

Caprifolium is derived from the Latin Caprea, a branch
that putteth forth tendrils; and folium, a leaf,

Caprea, also signifies a roe, a deer, a gazelle. The
French name for the Lonicera Caprifolium, is Chcvrefeu-
ille, said to be derived from the Latin Caper, or Capra, a
goat; and folium, a leaf. We are also told that goats are
remarkably fond of the leaves of the Honeysuckle.

Woodbine — Latin, Periclymenon; English, Honey-
suckle. (See Johnson.)

Periclymenon, L. derived from the Greek *-£P.x;u,usi>oi<,
from -i%i, about, and xvKtai, to roll around.

L. Caprifolium, in the Encyclopedia, designates a spe-
cies called Pale perfoliate Honeysuckle, native of Great
Britain. Leaves deciduous; the uppermost united and per-
foliate. Flowering in May or June, in England. Stem
shrubby, woody, turning. Branches nearly opposite, round,

smooth. Almost all the leaves are combined, elliptical, ob-
tuse, entire, smooth, rather glaucous beneath; the upper ones
in united perfoliate pairs, somewhat orbiculate accompanying
the flowers. Flowers in whorls, ringent, terminal, spread-
ing, yellowish, with a flesh-coloured tube, very fragrant.
Berries of an orange red, crowned by the almost entire
calyx.

L. Periclymenon, Common Honeysuckle, or Woodbine,
native of Europe, flowering in June, July, and occasionally
in the Autumn. Stem and branches similar to the last.
Leaves opposite, on very short foot-stalks, elliptical, entire,
sometimes pubescent, glaucous beneath. Flowers in a ter-
minal head, spreading in a radiate manner, yellowish-white,
and blush-coloured, very fragrant, and particularly so, early
in the evening. Berries red, crowned with a five-toothed
calyx, bitter, with a sweetish flavour.

A remarkable variety sometimes occurs with sinuated,
variegated leaves, called the Oak-leaved Honeysuckle.

The flowers of the genus Lonicera, have five-cleft calyx.
Corolla of one petal, tubular; tube oblong, gibbous; limb in
five revolute segments, one of which is more deeply se-
parated.

A Honeysuckle on the sunny side,

Hung round the lattices its fragrant trumpets.

Landon.

Copious of flowers, the Woodbine pale and wan,
But well compensating her sickly looks
With never cloying odours, early and late. Cowper.

The Wild Honeysuckle, Jlzalea, is a splendid genus of
shrubs, abundant in North America: to be found, also, in the
East Indies.

JLzalea, is derived from the Greek ufa^co;, dry, from its
growing in a dry soil. Its flower resembles that of the Honey-
suckle, or Lonicera, but is much larger and richer in its
hues. Some of the species are delightfully fragrant. JV*a-
tural order different from Lonicera, as will be seen in
Glossary.

HOUSTONIA.

Named by Linnaeus after Dr. William Houston, F. R.
S., resident for several years in the West Indies. He visited
the Spanish Main, from whence he sent various seeds to
Europe, between the years 1728 and 1732. Some engrav-
ings of flowers, by his own hand, were purchased by Sir Jo-
seph Banks, who printed and liberally distributed an edition
of them.

There are several varieties of the Houstonia, natives of
North America — as the H. Cserulea, H. Purpurea, Etc.: a
genus of pretty little delicate plants that cover our fields in
the early spring, with their small brilliant pale blue, or almost
white flowers, with a yellow eye, jasmine like, but scentless;
produced all the summer long. Each flower grows on a
slender, simple, naked, smooth stalk, only a few inches high.
The perianth half superior, of four small upright permanent
teeth. Corolla of one petal, funnel-shaped; tube much
longer than the calyx, cylindrical, slightly dilated at the top;
limb in four deep, roundish or elliptical spreading segments.

Leaves from half an inch to an inch long, entire, smooth,
rough-edged, rather acute; the radical ones obovate, stalked;
stem-leaves opposite, much narrower; roots fibrous and pe-
rennial. If the least attention be paid, it flowers perpetually.
It has been transplanted to the European green-houses; but
with us it is so common and so abundant, that it is left in quiet
possession of its native fields, where it flourishes in unambi-
tious contentment.

Its four-cleft petal forms a Maltese cross, and its yellow
anthers, also, form a cross in the centre, looking like a tiny
drop of gold set in pearls.

How often, modest flower,
I mark thy tender blossoms, when they spread,
Along the turfy slope, their starry bed,

Hung heavy with the shower. Pertival.

Sweet flower, thou tell'st how hearts
As pure and tender as thy leaf, — as low
And humble as thy stem, will surely know

The joy that peace imparts. Same.

The popular names of Houstonia, are Dwarf Pink,
Bluets, Innocence, and sometimes American Daisy, (al-
though it has none of the botanical characteristics of the Bel-
Us,) from its humble growth, its simple beauty, and general
diffusion over the United States, covering and adorning our
fields, as does the European Daisy in its own climate, and
like it, an endeared little flower, and universal favourite.

HYACINTH.

Hyacinthus.

Hyacinthus, a name adopted from the ancient Greeks,
who applied it to the flower supposed to have sprung from
the blood of Hyacinthus, son of Amyclas, founder of the city
of Amyclffi. He was a favourite with both Apollo and Zephy-
rus, but his preference of the Sun to the Winds, excited the
jealousy of Zephyrus, who caused his destruction, by sending
a puff of wind to change the course of a quoit thrown by
Apollo, so as to fall upon the head of the young Hyacinthus
and deprive him of his life.

He was afterwards changed by Apollo into a flower bear-
ing his name.

You when alive, were Phoebus' darling boy;

# * # *

Yet this he gave; as oft as wintry rains
Are past, and vernal breezes soothe the plains,
From the green turf, a purple flow'r you rise,
And with your fragrant breath perfume the skies.

*****

Thy name my lyre shall sound, my verse shall tell;
And to a flow'r transform'd unheard of yet,
Stamp'd on thy leaves, my cries thou shall repeat.
The time shall come prophetic I foreknow,
When join'd to thee, a mighty chief* shall grow
And with my plaints his name my leaf shall show.

Ajax.

While Phoebus thus the laws of fate reveal'd,
Behold the blood which stain'd the verdant field,
Is blood no longer; but a flow'r full blown,
A lily's form it took ; its purple hue
Was all that made a difference to the view.
Nor stopp'd he here; the god upon its leaves,
The sad expression of his sorrow weaves;
And to this hour the mournful purple wears
Jli, Jli, inscrib'd in fun'ral characters. OzilVs Ovid.

Another fabulous account of the flower, is, that it sprung
from the blood of Jljax Telamonius, who slew himself in a
rage, when the arms of Achilles were adjudged by the Greeks
to his rival, Ulysses. And it is described by Ovid, as a. pur-
ple flower in this instance, also.

The fruitful blood produc'd a flower which grew
On a green stem, and of a purple hue:
Like his, whom unaware, Apollo slew:
Inscribed in both, the letters were the same,
But those express the grief, and these the name.

[See Death of Jljax.

As poets feign'd — from Ajax streaming blood
Arose, with grief inscribed, a mournful flower.

Young's Night Thoughts.

0 tell in what delightful region springs

The flow'r that bears inscrib'd the names of kings.*

Virgil's Eclogues.

Great differences have arisen amongst commentators
Concerning this plant of the ancients, which we cannot pre-
sume to settle, but there seems no paramount authority for
the application of the name in question to our common gar-
den Hyacinth. [See Rees* Encyclopedia.

The garland of Flora tells us that the classical flower,
is a species of Martagon Lily, and decides it to be the red
JMartagon lily — quoting Martyn, as observing " that most
Martagons are marked with many spots of a darker colour
than the flower itself; which often run together so as to form
the letters Jli — as the ancient hyacinth is represented."

1 have searched in vain for the origin of the word JWar-
tagon; all that I can find said of it, is, that Gerard, who
wrote in 1596, in speaking of a lily brought ''many dales
iourneis beyond Constantinople," which he calls Lilium Bi-
zantinum, " the red lilie of Constantinople," tells us, that he
had two other smaller kinds of lilies growing in his garden,
which, at that time, bore the name of J\Iartagon, which seems
to have been given to these kinds of lilies by Matthiolus.

The Martagon, is elsewhere represented as a species of
lily red or yellow, with dark spots, or blotched. Flowers
pendulous, or hanging downwards. This agrees with the
Hyacinth, whose bell flowers of the form of the lily, and only
inferior in size, are suspended by a short peduncle, or flower
stalk. The Martagon lily has a disagreeable scent, but the
Hyacinth a delightful odour.

* From Pitt's Virgil " of Kings— The flower here meant is the
Hyacinth, which, as it is said to spring from the blood of Jljax, was
marked *4. I."

Now tell your story, hyacinth; and show
Jli, Jll, the more amidst your sanguine wo.

Calendar of Nature, G. ofF.

" Or that red flower whose lips ejaculate

Wo." Garland of Flora.

Camus,* reverend sire, went footing slow,
His mantle hairy, and his bonnet sedge,
Inwrought with figures dim, and on the edge,
Like to that sanguine flower, inscribed with wo.

Milton's Lycidas.

The Martagon, of classic honours vain,
Bears on his brow the gory spotted stain.
Still darkly graved on each returning bloom
The moans of Phoebus, and the Hero's doom.

Dr. Evans.

The Flora Historica remarks that " some authors sup-
pose the red Martagon lily to be the poetical Hyacinth of
the ancients, but this is evidently a mistaken opinion, as the
azure colour would decide — and a blue Martagon will be
sought in vain. — Pliny describes the Hyacinth, as having a
sword grass leaf, and the scent of the grape flower, which
agrees with the Hyacinth, but not with the Martagon." —
Upon the whole, it appears to be an affair not easily decided.

The drooping pendulous growth of the Hyacinth is allu-
ded to in the following lines:

The melancholy hyacinth, that weeps
All night and never lifts an eye all day.

The languid hyacinth who wears

His bitter sorrow painted on his bosom.

Hurdis.

G. of Flora.

And for their grateful perfume, we have —

There were

Hyacinths, with their graceful bells,
Where the spirit of odour dwells. London, G. F.

Breathe o'er the hyacinth bells
Where, every summer, odour dwells. L. E. L.

The sad blue, or purple colour, is noticed by PercivaL

" A hyacinth lifted its purple bell

From the slender leaves around it;

It curved its cup in a flowing swell,

And a starry circle crowned it;

The deep blue tincture that robed it, seem'd,

The gloomiest garb of sorrow,

As if on its eye no brightness beamed,

And it never in clearer moments dreamed,

Of a fair and calm to-morrow."

The colours for mourning are various, in different coun-
tries; and for each there is an assigned reason.

In Europe, the ordinary colour for mourning is black —
denoting the privation of life; as being the privation of light.

In Turkey blue or violet denotes mourning. Blue, as
expressing the happiness which it is hoped the deceased en-
joy; and purple, or violet, sorrow on the one side, and hope
on the other, as being a mixture of black and blue. Kings
and Cardinals always mourn in purple.

In China, it is white; supposed to denote purity.

The ancient Spartan and Roman Ladies mourned in
white; and the same colour obtained formerly in Castile, on
the death of their Princes. The last time it was used was
in 1498, at the death of Prince John.

In Egypt, yellow is the mourning colour, denoting that
death is the end of human hopes; as leaves when they fall,
and flowers when they fade, become yellow.

In Ethiopia, brown, the emblem of mourning, denotes
the earth, whither the dead return.

The memory of the lamented Hyacinthus was kept
alive by annual solemnities called Hyacinthia, celebrated at
Amycla? in Laconia, which lasted three days. The first day
was devoted to mourning for Hyacinthus, the other two were
spent in games and festivals in honour of Apollo, and in allu-
sion to the fabulous origin of this favourite flower, by the
death of the youth, while Apollo was engaged in one of these
games.

Nor are the Spartans, who so much are fam'd
For virtue, of their hyacinth asham'd;
But still with pompous wo, and solemn state,
The hyacinthian feasts they yearly celebrate.

OzilFs Ovid.

The English Hyacinth, non scriptus, commonly called
harebell, from the bell- shape of its flowers, and from its being
found so frequently in those thickets most frequented by
hares, is of a clear blue, occasionally seen with a pure white
corolla. It has been scarcely less celebrated than the poetic
hyacinth. Shakspeare's magic pen is alone sufficient to give
it the stamp of celebrity.

With fairest flowers

Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele,
I'll sweeten thy sad grave: thou shall not lack
The flower that's like thy face, pale Primrose, nor
The azure harebell, like thy veins. Shaks.

In the lone copse, or shady dell,
Wild cluster'd knots of harebells blow.

Char. Smith.

stands.

The poetical name of the river Cam, on which Cambridge

The harebell, for her stainless azured hue,
Claims to be worn by none but those are true.

W. Browne.

Dioscorides tells us, that the root of this flower will pro-
cure hair on bald, and beardless men.
The cottage children call it blue bell.

•*•-

Bluebell ! how gayly art thou drest,

How neat and trim art thou, sweet flower;

How silky is thy azure vest,

How fresh to flaunt at morning's horfr! Mrs. Robinson.

Gerard calls this plant blue harebell, or English Jacint,
which is evidently from the French Jacinthe. The term non
scriptus, was applied by Dodonasus, because it had not the Jli,
Jli, on the petals, and, therefore, could not be the Hyacin-
thus Poeticus. F. Historica.

The garden Hyacinth, H. Orientalis, has numerous va-
rieties, all without a Calyx. Corolla of one petal, bell-shaped;
limb in six reflected segments. Nectary three pores near
the summit of the germen. Frequently doubled.

HYDRANGER; or, CHINESE GUELDER ROSE.
Hydrangea Hortensis.

Hydrangea, L. from the Greek v?«i, water, and «yy««ov,
a vessel; in allusion to the pitcher-like shape of the seed
vessels.

The specific name Hortensis, L. pertaining to, or grow-
ing in gardens.

A native of the East — cultivated in the gardens of China
and Japan, from whence it was introduced into England, by
Sir Joseph Banks, in 1790.

This plant is nearly allied to Viburnum and Sambucus.
Soon after its introduction into England, it was observed that
some of the plants produced flowers of a fine blue colour,
from cuttings taken from the rose coloured varieties. Some
conjectured it was caused by oxyd of iron ; others, that it
originated from salt, or saltpetre, being accidentally mixed
in the earth. It was also observed, that a cutting from the
rose coloured variety, that had been planted in the soil of the
heathy common, mixed with a portion of turf ashes, produced
blue flowers. The owner of this plant, a poor cottage-
woman, refused ten guineas for it, being unwilling to part
with a plant that had been reared by a child whom she had
lost; but she gladly sold cuttings from it, all of which pro-
duced flowers of the original rose colour, having been planted
in common garden soil.

In our own country, the rose-coloured Hydranger has
been made to bear blue flowers, when fed with marsh mud,
as has been tested a few miles below Annapolis, on Back-
river.

We find this flower made emblematical of a boaster,
whose vaunting words resemble the abortive flowers — large
and showy, without being followed by suitable results.

Flowers in clusters, terminal, of a beautiful rose-colour,
inodorous, green when young, as well as in decay. Corolla
of five petals, equal, roundish, larger than the calyx, which
is of one leaf, superior, five-toothed, small. Leaves elliptical,
serrated, very smooth, veiny, curved backwards. Root
fibrous, much branched, whitish. Stems erect, shrubby.
Branches opposite, leafy, green, speckled with dark purple
spots, flowering at the top.

JASMINE, WHITE.
Jasminum Ojfficinale.

Jasminum, L. from the Greek laa-/**, a fragrant ointment,
or perfume, alluding to the sweet scent of the flowers.

Jasminum, a genus containing plants of the hardy and
tender, deciduous, and evergreen, shrubby kinds: rarely
double, with varieties of white, or yellow flowers. Our com-
mon white Jasmine, is a native of the East, hardy, but not
evergreen.

Jasmines, some like silver spray,
Some like gold in the morning ray;
Fragrant stars, and favourites they.

Indian Bride.
Garland of Flora.

The Jassamine, with which the queen of flowers,
To charm her God, adorns his favourite bowers;
Which brides, by the plain hand of neatness drest,
Unenvied rival! wear. Churchill.

The flowers of this genus have a perianth of one leaf,
inferior, tubular, oblong; its margin five-toothed, and erect.
Corolla of one petal, salver-shaped; its segments from five to
eight.

CAROLINA YELLOW JASMINE.

Bignonia.

Bignonia — The flowers of this genus so named by
Tournefort, in honour of the Jlbbe Bignon.

Jerome Bignon was born at Paris, in 1590. He was
esteemed a prodigy of literature. About the age of ten, while
acting as page to the young Prince of Conde, he published
" A description of the Holy Land," which was esteemed to
be more accurate than any then extant. And, at the age of
fourteen, composed, for the use of the young Duke of Ven-
dome, a " Treatise on Roman Antiquities." These works
were mere compilations; but at the age of fourteen, he also
composed an original work, entitled " Election of the Popes,"
which displayed a degree of erudition, that surprised the most
learned men of the age. By Henry IV. he was appointed
page of honour to the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XIII. Upon
the death of Henry, he withdrew from Court, but continued
to write, and to publish several works of celebrity.

Cardinal Richelieu, although not his friend, appointed
him Royal Librarian. Queen Anna of Austria, during her
regency, availed herself of his advice on many interesting oc-
casions; and he was employed in various delicate negotiations.
He died at the age of sixty-seven; having maintained, through
life, a character universally respected and esteemed for his
piety, and useful services to his country.

Bignonia, Trumpet-flower; or, Scarlet Jasmine. Big-
nonias are trees, or shrubs, inhabitants of the hot climates
of the East and West Indies, and eminently beautiful.
Flowers in panicles, large and handsome, of various colours,
red, blue, yellow, or white. Rees' Encyclopedia.

The common Catalpa, Bignonia Catalpa, is a beautiful
tree of this genus, indigenous to South Carolina, Sec. Catalpa
is an Indian name. The seeds of this tree are said to be

fatal to poultry. Honey-bees do not feed on the nectar of
these flowers.

Rees tells us that Bignonia Sempervirens, C. Yellow
Jasmine, does not belong to this genus, according to JVfar-
tyn, but to that of llsanthus. Upon examination, lisanthus
is found to be of the class and order Pentandria JWonogy-
nia: Natural order Rotacese Linn. Gcntianse Juss.

The Carolina Yellow Jasmine, Bignonia Sempervi-
rens, grows, naturally, in South Carolina, where it spreads
over the hedges, and, at the season of flowering, perfumes the
air to a great distance. It is also found in some parts of Vir-
ginia— called Yellow Jasmine, probably from the odour of its
flowers. So says Rees.

Leaves simple, lanceolate, stem twining; rising with
slender stalks, to a considerable height, with single oppo-
site leaves at every joint, that remain green throughout the
year.

The general character of the flowers of the class Big-
nonia, is a perianth, one-leafed, erect, cup form, five-cleft.
Corolla monopetalous, campanulate; tube small, the length
of the calyx; throat very long, ventricose beneath, oblong-
campanulate; border five-parted, the two upper divisions re-
flex, lower patulous; stamens four, two longer than the other
two: pistulum germ oblong; style filiform, stigma capitate.

ICE PLANT.

JVesembryanthemum Crystallimum.
•Mesembryanthemum is a vast genus of succulent plants,
formerly known by the name of Ficoides, from its affinity to
the Indian fig, or Cactus. Breynius* first named it Mesem-
bryanthemum, meaning to express its flowers expanding at
mid -day; which is true of many of the species, but not of all.
Dillenius,t therefore, by altering one letter in the orthography,
had recourse to another etymology, from J^Iesos, the middle;
embruon, an embryo; and anthos, a. flower — because the
embryo (meaning the germen) is in the middle of the flower.
He observes, that the flower does not altogether stand on the
top of the fruit, but is perforated, as it were, by the latter;
whilst it so closely adheres to the middle, as not to be se-
parable from it without laceration. We confess our predilec-
tion for the original idea of Breynius: the refulgent and ra-
diating petals of some of this genus, seem to welcome, as
well as to emulate, the noon-tide sun, folding themselves up
as it withdraws. Rees1 Encyclopedia.

The Mesembryanthemum, Cristattinum, or Ice Plant,

* All that is said of Breynius, in Rees' Encyclopedia, is, that a
South-sea plant was named Breynia, in commemoration of a father and
son of the same name, (Jacquin Breynius,) both celebrated Botanists.

f John James Dillenius, one of the most celebrated Botanists of the
18th century; especially for his knowledge of Mosses, and their allies.
He was a German, born at Darmstadt, in 1687. In 1721, he was per-
suaded to settle in England, by William Sherard, once Consul at Smyr-
na; who, afterwards, endowed a Professorship of Botany, at Oxford —
giving, for this purpose, the sum of 13,000. This Professorship was be-
stowed upon Dillenius.

A magnificent East Indian genus of plants was, by Linnaeus, named
Dillenia, in honour of him : "because" (to use Linnaeus' own words)
" it is of all plants the most distinguished for the beauty of its flower
and fruit, like Dillenius among Botanists."

is a well known tender annual, much admired for appearing
as if frosted over, or encrusted with frozen dew. This ap-
pearance is caused by innumerable little bladders in the cuti-
cle, filled with a limpid juice: to the touch the whole herb is
cold, and remarkably flaccid. Its stem spreads widely on the
ground, bearing numerous broad undulating leaves, alternate,
ovate, waved, papillary; flowers nearly sessile, copious, of a
pale rose-colour; fruit dark purple.

JONQUIL.

Rush-leaved, or Common Jonquil.

Narcissus Jonquilla.

(For Narcissus, see note on that Flower.)

Jonquil, E. — Fr. Jonquille; It. giunchiglia, giunco;

L. Juncus, a rush, and It. giglio, a lily. It is sometimes

called the rush leaved daffodil. Webster.

The Jonquil is distinguished from the other species of
Narcissus, by its rush-like foliage, and hence its name,
which is derived from juncus, rushy. Gerard, and old
writers, call it " the rush Daffodil," and Narcissus Junci-
folius.

The Rush-leaved Jonquil, is a favourite species, gene-
rally cultivated in a single and double state, for the sake of
its rich and powerful perfume. It is said to be a native of
Spain. Its narrow rushy leaves, at once distinguish it from
the other varieties of Narcissus. The Flowers are of a gol-
den yellow, scarcely more than half the size of N. Poeticus,
whose form they most resemble; the cup being very short and
crenate, or notched, and the petals elliptical, spreading wide-
ly their sides somewhat deflexed, or bent downwards. The
number of flowers is from three to six, and they droop, in
some degree, though less than the nodding Jonquil or N.
nutans.

IRIS.

Iris, so named from the various, and somewhat concen-
tric hues of the flower, which give an idea of the rainbow.
The modern Greeks call it xfivov, a lily — the French Lis or
Fleur-de-lis.

We are, also, told that the ancients named this plant
after Iris, the messenger of the gods, and more particularly
of Juno. She is represented with wings variegated with all
the beautiful colours of the rainbow, sitting behind her mis-
tress, ready to execute her commands.

" The various Iris Juno sends with haste." Ovid.

She is, likewise described as supplying the clouds with
water to deluge the world.

Then clad in colours of a various die,
Junonian Iris breeds a new supply
To feed the clouds.

Dryden's Ovid.

The genus Iris, contains plants of the fibrous, tuberous,
and bulbous-rooted, flowery, herbaceous, perennial kinds.
With flowers of every colour. The Calyx, a spathe of two
valves, separating the flowers, permanent. Corolla, in six

deep segments, united into a tube by their narrow base;
the three outermost reflected, the three inner, erect, and most
acute.

Nor Iris, with her glorious rainbow clothed,
So fulgent, as the cheerful gardens shine,
With their bright offspring, when they're in their bloom.

ColumeUa.

The Iris claims connexion with the lilies, and often
passes under their name, notwithstanding botanical laws. —
The blue Iris of Persia, is the most fragrant.

About the middle of the 12th century, Louis the 7th of
France, when about to undertake the second crusade, chose
the Iris flower for his blazon. It was, hence, called Fleur
de Louis, Louis' flower, and afterwards contracted to Fleur
de Luce, and again into Fleur-de-lis, or lily flower, although
it has no affinity to the lily.

The number of Fleur-de-lis, used in emblazoning the
arms of France, were reduced to three, in the reign of
Charles the 6th, about the year 1381.

IVY.

Hedera.

Ivy, E. — Saxon, \fig; German, epheuj a parasitic plant
of the genus Hedera. Webster.

Hedera, according to some etymologists derived from
Hzedus, a kid, because it was given to goats by the ancients.*
We are also told that it is called in the Greek Hissos, from
Cissos a favourite of Bacchus, whom poets fable to have been
transformed into this plant, and hence it became sacred to
that God, who is represented crowned with Vine, and Ivy
leaves. In Egypt it was consecrated to Osiris, which some
say is another name for Bacchus.

The Ivy formed the crown of the Roman Poets. In
modern times, woman's love, constancy, dependence, &.C.,
have been expressed by it.

The Hedera helix, common European Ivy , is that so
celebrated for its picturesque effect upon old buildings, trees,
8tc., to which it attaches itself by short fibres. The whole
plant has a peculiar aromatic flavour. The evergreen leaves,
dark, with white veins, upper ones, ovate, lower, five-lobed,
all standing on foot-stalks. Flowers green, of many umbels,
forming a corymbus. Calyx very small perianth, five tooth-
ed. Petals five, dilated at the base, their tops incurved.
Berries globular, black, mealy within.

A jolly

Verse, crown'd with ivy and holly,
That tells of winter's tales and mirth,
That milk-maids make about the hearth.

Robt. Herrick.

LABURNUM.

Cytisus Laburnum.

Cytisus, a shrub said by Pliny, to be found in the island
of Cythnus, one of the Cyclades, whence its name.

Jlinsworth.

*The reason given why the Corf was sacrificed to Bacchus, was on ..^

account of the great propensity of that animal to destroy thp..f%8.-

"'• "i ,s • *"

Laburnum, probably from Laborenum, fertile grounds
in Italy, between Puteoli and Cumse, in the road to Capua.

The lexicographers give me no aid in the etymology of
this word.

The C. Laburnum is a native of Austria, Switzerland,
&c. Its wood is hard and valuable. Hares and rabbits are
particularly fond of its leaves and bark; but its seeds are
said to be bitter and poisonous. The flowers yellow, papili-
onaceous; calyx one-leafed, bell shaped, two lipped; leaves
ternate; stem shrubby and thornless.

There are several species of Cytisus — one with purple
flowers, C. Purpureus, an elegant Austrian species, now
much cultivated: another, resembling the weeping Willow,
in its drooping boughs, &tc.

" When the dark-leafed Laburnum's drooping clusters,
Reflect, athwart the stream, their yellow lustres."

Cowper.

And the Laburnum, with its golden strings,

Waving in the wind. Southey.

The pale Laburnum graced with yellow plumes.

•Anon.

LADY'S SLIPPER.

Cypripedium.

Cypripedium L. from the Greek XUTT{<;, Venus, and
•roJiov, a shoe.

It is the most magnificent and admired genus of the Or-
chis family, and distinguished from all the rest by being truly
diandrous, (two stamens only in the same flower with the
pistil) as well as by its inflated bladder-like lip.

There is only one species native of England — the C.
Calceolus — several of Siberia. Eight species have been enu-
merated by Swartz. The C. Spectabile, C. Parviflorum,
C. Jlcaule, are the three assigned to North America, in Rees'
Encyclopedia.

In the neighbourhood of Baltimore, (Md.) may be found
the C. Pubescens, Vulgo, Noah's Ark, Yellow Mocasin flow-
er; and the C. Humile, Synon, C. Acaule, Vulgo, Purple
Mocas in flower, Lady's slipper.

The Candidum is assigned to Pennsylvania: the Par-
viflorum to Virginia: the Spectabile to Canada: the Pubes-
cens and Calceolus are supposed, by Dr. W. Darlington, to
be the same.

The flowers of this genus have a calyx two-leafed,
spreading, one of which is erect, the other dependent; the
latter often cloven. Petals two, alternate, with the calyx
declining, often twisted; lip large, inflated, hollow. Fila-
ments two, very short, inserted into the style, under two op-
posite lobes. Colour of the flower various— purple, pink,
yellow, &tc.

INDIAN LAGERSTR.ZEMIA.

Lagerstrsemia, so called by Linnaeus in commemora-
tion of his friend Magnus Lagerstraem, a director of the Swe-
dish East India Company, member of the Royal Societies of
n, who communicated to him many natu-

ral productions, and some other curiosities. Amongst these
was an exqusitely carved horn of a Rhinoceros, which repre-
sents a leaf of the Cyamus Nelumbo, accompanied by the
flower and fruit in a smaller size.

The Cyamus Nelumbo, native of the East Indies, Co-
chin-China, &tc. In many parts of which it is esteemed a
sacred plant, and makes a conspicuous figure in their mytho-
logy, as the symbol of fertility. Herodotus gives both it and
the Lotos the common denomination of lily, a term which
appears to have been applied by the Greeks to various plants
with large specious flowers. It appears, also, to have been
an Egyptian plant: their sculptures and mosaics, which are
still preserved, testify that it, as well as the Lotos, has ob-
tained religious reverence.

The exotic C. Nelumbo, was generally called the Egyp-
tian bean, and is expressly said, by Strabo, to be so called,
because in its fruit it resembles the Grecian bean, differing
only in size and taste. According to Dioscorides, it was
sometimes called the Pontic bean; and is said to be not only
of Egypt, but also of Asia Proper and Silicia.

Dr. Smith conjectured that it was the real mystical bean
of Pythagoras, concerning the prohibition of which, to his
followers, so much has been written, and so little determined.
It is supposed that this celebrated philosopher imbibed the
notion of its sacred character during his travels: and as it did
not grow in his own country, he took a substitute for it — a
common seed resembling it, which the common horse bean
does very nearly. [See Rees' Cyclopedia.]

This digression will, I hope be excused.

To return to the Lager strxmia: The shrub is about the
size of a pomegranite-tree, rather straggling, smooth, with
angular twigs. Leaves opposite or alternate, nearly sessile,
of an elliptical form, slightly pointed, entire, finely dotted.
Flowers in a large terminal, of a fine rose-colour, not unlike
a double stock, but far more delicate, and without scent.
The petals heart-shaped, pointed, excessively crumpled and
curled, with long slender claws, \ftnthers yellow; called,
by some, the fringed rose.

LARKSPUR.

Delphinium.

The Asxcpiviov of the ancient Greeks, "because," says
Dioscorides, "the slender segments of its leaves resemble
Dolphins." The resemblance rather to be found, according
to the vulgar ideas of that fish, between the curvature of its
body, and the horned nectary of the flower. Delphin, being
both the Latin and Greek for a Dolphin.

The flower-buds, before they are expanded, are thought
to resemble the Dolphin. In the natural single state of this
flower, the outer petals form a kind of horn-shaped nectary,
at the back of the corolla, which is similar to the spur of the
LarK's-foot — hence the name of Larkspur.

Flora Historica.

The Delphinium, although it loses its spur by the in-
crease of its petals, yet retains an advantage over the double
stock, and many other double flowers, by retaining its anthers
and stigmas, and consequently produces seed; but this seed,
if suffered to sow itself in the Autumn, generally returnsito.,

its natural single state; whilst the seed, sown later in the
season, or in the Spring, produces double flowers.

The Delphinium is annual, perennial, and biennial : na-
tives of the South of Europe, Siberia, America, Sec. It is
without a calyx; petals five, the upper one spurred; nectary
cloven, with a posterior spur. Leaves, the lower are digi-
tate, or palmate; the upper, sometimes, undivided. Flowers
loosely spiked, or panicled, various in colour.

LAUREL.

Ivy Tree of America. Calico Bush.
Kalmia.

Kalmia — a genus so named by Linnaeus, in honour of
his friend and pupil, Peter Kalm, D. D., Professor of Eco-
nomy at the University of Abo. He spent several years in
North America, exploring whatever was worthy of observa-
tion: and on his return, cultivated a botanical garden, at his
own expense, for the use of the Academy of Science, at Abo,
although straitened in his circumstances.

Laurel E.— Sp. Laurel. Fr. Laurier. It. Lauro. Lat.
Laurus. Law coincides in elements with fiower, fioreo.
Floreo, to flourish, to bear flowers, to blossom.

There are many species of the Kalmia, indigenous in
North America. The whole genus is remarkable for its ele-
gant flowers and foliage; decorating the sides of hills, and
sometimes found in the woods.

The narrow-leaved Laurel, K. Jlngustifolia, a shrub
of from two to six feet high, produces the most brilliant cup-
shaped flowers, in loose lateral bunches, and in the greatest
abundance, of a bright red colour, when they first open ; but
afterwards fading to a blush or peach colour, beautifully va-
riegated with crimson. Leaves of a shining green above,
paler beneath, lanceolate, on short foot-stalks, placed with-
out order. All the species are said to be poisonous to sheep
and cattle.

The broad-leaved Laurel, K. Latifolia, rises to the
height of from ten to twelve feet. Blossoms like the first.

K. Hirsuta, or Hairy-leaved Kalmia, has purplish flow-
ers: native of South Carolina, in swampy soil.

LAURUSTINUS.

Viburnum Tinus.

Viburnum — reckoned by Linnaeus among the Latin
names whose origin cannot be ascertained. It is traced by
Ainsworth, Vaillant, and Martyn, to the verb vieo, to bind.

Tinus — a kind of Bay tree, a Laurustinus.

•Ainsworth.

Laurustinus — an evergreen shrub, which flowers about
Michaelmas, and holds its flower through the winter.

Johnson.

Rees tells us that it is a compound word, meaning Lau-
rus, which is called Tinus; and Ovid teaches us that the first
syllable of Tinus is long: " Et bicolor myrtus, et baccis cae-
rula Tinus."

Tinus is a name given in Pliny, B. 15, chap. 30, for
what he says is sometimes termed a sort of Wild Laurel, and
is distinguished by the blue colour of its berries. This de-
scription is universally agreed to apply to our Laurustinus, or
Viburnum Tinus of Linnaeus. [See .Rees.]

Varieties of this genus are to be found in Japan, Mexico,
&.c. Several species, with white flowers, are scattered all
over the United States.

The common Laurustinus of our green-houses, is a na-
tive of Spain, Portugal, and Italy. A shrub never above five
feet high, spreading widely, twigs smooth, dark red ; leaves
ovate, entire, dark green above, veiny, with glandular hairs
at the origin of each large vein; flowers tinged with red, of
one petal, bell-shaped, cut halfway down; berries blue.

LAVENDER.

Lavandula.

Lavandula, from the Latin word lavo, to wash, or be-
sprinkle, alluding to its ancient use in baths, or fomentations;
or to its distilled water, in more modern times.

A genus known and esteemed in our gardens and green-
houses. All are shrubby, with blue or purplish, occasionally
white, fragrant, spiked flowers. Their foliage likewise aro-
matic, generally of a grey, or hoary-green, narrow, either
simple or compound. The spike is supported on a longish,
naked, square stalk. Perianth of one leaf; corolla monope-
talous, ringent, reversed: native of Africa, Europe, Sic.

The common Lavender, L. Spica, cultivated for the
sake of its scent, when dried; and the essential oil and distil-
led water which is made from it. To be " laid up in Laven-
der," is become proverbial for any thing stored up with pe-
culiar care.

LEMON.
Citrus Limon.
Citrus, derivation unknown. (Bees' Cyclopedia.)

Citrus, a citron-tree, growing upon Mount Atlas, in
Africa, of the wood of which they made tables at Rome.
Also, another sort which bore fruit of an excellent grateful
smell. Jl lemon or orange tree, a pome-citrul, Plin.

[See JHnsworth.~\

Skinner tells ue, the word citron is like the thing itself;
of Persian or Moorish origin.

In Lemon's English etymology we find " Citron, Greek,
XIT^IOV, a citron apple, a fruit brought from Media." And in
the same book, under the word Lemon, we are told that " Ju-
nius supposes, with great justness, that it ought to be written
limon: and, after quoting the word in several languages, in
which it appears always limon, he says, they suppose it to be
from the Greek word \i^os, hunger, because it sharpens
hunger."

" Lemon, from the French gallic limon — Italian limone
— Lemone, perhaps all from the Greek K>^KV} a meadow, a
garden, as if it were said the ornament of the garden."

[See Skinner.]

The genus citrus comprehends plants of the citron, le-
mon, and orange-tree kinds.

The common Lemon, Citrus limon, and lime, C. Jlcris,
are, by botanists, referred to one species. They, as well as
the orange, are natives of the East, now naturalized in all
warm climates.

The lime is said to grow to the height of from twelve
to fourteen feet. Its fruit is esteemed a much more grateful
acid than that of the lemon; and in the West Indies, where

they are most cultivated, the lemon is in little repute, and
seldom used. From the varieties of the lime, the powerful
perfume called Bergamot, is obtained; which is said to have
derived its name from Bergamo, in Italy.

The flowers of the genus citrus, have a one-leafed, five-
cleft calyx, small and withering; petals five, oblong, and
spreading. The leaf of the lemon is ovate-lanceolate, acu-
minate, somewhat serrated.

LICHEN; or, TREE MOSS.

Lichen, a name borrowed by the Romans from the
Greeks, for the disease called the tetter, or ringworm, and
applied to some plants of a mossy nature.

They are fleshy or leather-like substances growing on
rocks, trees, and old buildings: the most common species
may be observed in the form of a rough yellow and bluish
crust, on gooseberry bushes, and old palings, to which they
impart a picturesque appearance.

They are called Rock moss, or Tree moss; some of the
Liver-worts are of this order.

They, also, include the Iceland moss, now much used in
medicine; and the Reindeer moss, of Lapland, which grows
to the height of a foot, and is the principal food of the noble
animal whose name it bears. But they are entirely distinct
from the true mosses, (Musci.)

Where frowning Snowden bends his dizzy brow
O'er Conway, listening to the surge below;
Retiring Lichen climbs the topmost stone,
And drinks the aerial solitude alone —

Bright shine the stars, unnumber'd, o'er her head,
And the cold moon-beam gilds her flinty bed;
While, round the rifted rocks, hoarse whirlwinds breathe,
And dark with thunder sail the clouds beneath. —

Darwin.

This plant is the first that vegetates on naked rocks cov-
ering them with a kind of tapestry, and draws its nourish-
ment, perhaps chiefly from the air. Darwin.

The Lichen which grows on the bark of the White Oak
tree is, in medical books, called lung-icort, as it is there
said — from its resemblance to the lungs, — or rather, perhaps,
from its being used in diseases of the lungs. It is said to pos-
sess the same qualities as the Iceland moss, so celebrated in
the cure of pulmonary consumption.

LILAC.

Syringa.

Lilac, of Turkish origin. French lilas — Sp. lilac.

Syringa, so called by Linnaeus, from o-uen-yj, <ru?«vyj'0{,
Greek for a pipe, on account of the use which the Turks
make of its straight and tubular branches, when deprived of
the pith, for tobacco pipes.

" It is called in Barbary Seringa. It may well be ima-
gined that this African word came from the Greek; and ori-
ginated in the resemblance of the branches to a reed. We
have no doubt that Linnseus had both words in view."

The name may possibly owe its origin to the nymph Sy-

rinx, fabled to have been transformed into reeds; from which
her admirer formed the famous instrument called Syrinx, or
Pan's Pipes.

The Philadelphia of Linnxus, and others, now com-
monly called Syringa, in the gardens, is confounded in its
nomenclature and history, with the above, its branches being
capable of serving the same purposes.

The Syringa Vulgaris, or common garden Lilac, has
usually purple flowers, but there is a beautiful white variety.

The Persian Lilac, S. Persica, is a shrub of a slender
habit, growing only to the height of four or five feet. The
jftowers are larger than those of the common lilac, and equal-
ly fragrant; but fewer in each panicle, and less crowded.
The flowers purple, or white; the white peculiarly brilliant
and elegant.

The common Lilac is, also, a native of Persia. The
Turks appear to have long cultivated it, and its common
English name is derived from them; belonging, also, in their
language, to the privet. It was introduced into England
about the middle of the sixteenth century, from Constanti-
nople.

There is, also, a Chinese variety, now cultivated, but
more rare, the S. Chinensis, of humble stature, generally
taken for a broad-leafed variety of the S. Persica.

The Lilac, various in array, now white,
Now sanguine, and her beauteous head now set
With purple spikes pyramidal, as if studious of orna-
ment,

Yet unresolved which hues she most approved,
She chose them all. Cotcpcr.

O, were my love yon Lilach fair,

Wi' purple blossoms to the spring;
And I a bird to shelter there,

When wearied on my little wing! Burns.

The flowers of this genus have a permanent ealyx, small
tubular, bordered with four erect teeth. Corolla of one pe-
tal, funnel-shaped; tube cylindrical, several times longer than
the calyx; limb in four deep elliptic, oblong, spreading seg-
ments.

LILY.

IMium Candidwn.

LUium, appears to be a name of rather obscure origin;
(says the Encyclopedia) deduced by some from the Greek
x£.?.ov a Lily, derived from /uio5, smooth, not rough, also
handsome, because the plant is conspicuous for the beauty
of its flowers. It has moreover been called xfivav, from
XJITOV, the Greek for dust, or pollen — because, the flowers
seem in general to be sprinkled with a powdery substance,
from the abundance of their pollen.

Ainsworth derives Lilium from the Greek \ti?iov3 or
A.I«<OV, definition, a lily. Lilium is adopted from Pliny, and
other Latin authors.

Candidum, from candido, (L.) to bleach, to make
white. L. Candidum, is said to be indisputably a native of
the Holv Land.

In Heathen Mythology, the Lily is said to have been
originally of the colour of crocus, but Juno having dropped
some milk upon the earth, changed the colour from purple to
white. It tells us, also, that this flower was a great favourite
with Juno, and consecrated to her by Heathen nations.

All nations agree in making the Lily the symbol of puri
ty and modesty.

O, dress the Lily in its vest of lawn,
Whiter, than foam upon the crested wave,
Pure, as the spirit, parted from its grave,
When every stain that earth had left is gone.

Percival.

The white Lily has leaves lanceolate, scattered, atten-
uated at the base, numerous, long, smooth. Flowers large,
white, in a cluster at the top of the stem. Corolla bell-shaped,
smooth on the inside. Root a large scaly bulb, from which
proceeds many scaly fibres.

The Yellow Lily is a native of Persia, whose chief city
was called Shusan, and one of its provinces Susiana. In
Hebrew language, the name of Susanah signifies Lily.

Once, Emir! thy unheeding child,
'Mid all this havoc, bloomed and smiled,
Tranquil, as on some battle plain,
The Persian's lily shines and towers;
Before the contest's reddening stain,
Has fallen upon its golden flowers.

JVLoore. Fire Worshippers.

LILY OF THE VALLEY.

Convallaria.

Convallaria, from the Latin word Convallis, a valley,
or dale, enclosed on both sides with hills. Jlinsworth.

There are many of the species idigenous in North Ame-
rica. Flowers generally white, or variegated with green.
A variety from Japan has violet coloured flowers.

This exquisitely beautiful monopetalous flower is mo-
destly concealed in the broad, bright green leaves, which sur-
round its delicate and graceful bells.

And ye, whose lowlier pride,
In sweet seclusion seems to shrink from view,
You of the Valley nam'd, no longer hide
Your blossoms, meet to twine the brow of purest bride.

Barton.

That shy plant — the lUy of the vale,
That loves the ground, and from the sun withholds
Her pensive beauty, from the breeze her sweets.

Evening's Excursion. G. F.

The Lily whose sweet beauties seem,
As if they must be sought.

Barton.

And sweetest to the view,
The lily of the vale, whose virgin flower
Trembles at every breeze, beneath its leafy bower.

Same.

The name of Lily has been improperly applied to it, 33
it has not the least affinity with the Lily, either in its root,
fruit, or flower. Perhaps, from the purity of its white corol-
la, as the idea of delicacy and purity is attached to the very
name of Lily.

Flowers of Convallaria, monopetalous, bell-shaped, six-
cleft, nodding, sometimes double: leaves large, elliptical, rib-
bed, entire, acute, on long petioles: root perennial.

LOTOS.

Lotos, a name which has been more variously applied,
and of which, perhaps, more has been written than of any
other plant. Those who have sought for its origin, in the
Greek language, have found nothing nearer than \a,, the Greek
for to will, or to desire, alluding, as they suppose, to the plant
being greatly esteemed. [Bees' Cyclopedia.]

It has been suggested by one who has read this note,
that, from the Greek verb xw, there is derived an adjective,
whose superlative is x^jo;, signifying the best — which ac-
cords with the estimate in which the ancients held this plant}
and that, by dropping the letter * in this superlative, for the
sake of euphony, which the ancients frequently did, we have
precisely the Greek name of this plant, A.MTOS: a conjecture
by no means so strained as many of those in which etymolo-
gists often indulge.

Ainsworth derives Lotos and Lotus, from the nymph
Lotis, and refers to Ovid; who tells us, in the story of the
unfortunate Dryope, who was punished, by instant transfor-
mation, for inadvertently plucking a flower from the plant into
which the nymph had been metamorphosed.

" Not distant far a wat'ry Lotos grew;
The spring was new, and all the verdant boughs
Adorn'd with blossoms, promised fruits that vie.
In glowing colours, with the Tyrian die.

* * # *

Lotis, the nymph, (if rural tales be true,)

* * * *

Forsook her form; and fixing here, became
A flow'ry plant, which still preserves her name.

Pope's Ovid.

In Camoens' Luciad, we find a mention of the shrub
Lotus, corresponding with the Lotos of Ovid, with its fruit
of " Tyrian die." The Lybian Lotos is there described as
" a shrub like a bramble; the berries like the myrtle, but pur-
ple when ripe, and about the bigness of an olive. Mixed
with bread-corn, it was used as food for slaves: they, also,
made an agreeable wine of it, but which would not keep above
ten days."

This corresponds, also, with the plant described by Park,
as abounding in Africa, particularly in sandy soils. He took
a drawing of a branch in flower; the fruit of which was a small
farinaceous berry, about the size of an olive; which, when
dried, was made into excellent cakes, resembling, in colour
and flavour, the sweet ginger-bread. The natives, also, pre-
pare from it a liquor delicately sweet; the same, perhaps,
which is fabled to have produced such extraordinary effects
on the companions of Ulysses.

Though some have conjectured that the Lotus Glycyca-
lamus of the ancients, and that which is mentioned by Homer,
is our sugar-cane.

"Not prone to ill, nor strange to foreign guest,
They eat, they drink, and nature gives the feast;
The trees around them all their fruit produce;
Lotos the name; divine nectarious juice;
(Thence call'd Lotophagi) which whoso tastes,
Insatiate, riots in the sweet repasts,
Not other home, nor other care intends,
But quits his house, his country and his friends:
The three we sent, from off th' enchanting ground,
We dragg'd reluctant, and by force we bound,
The rest, in haste, forsook the pleasing shore,
Or, the charm tasted, had return'd no more."

Pope's Odyssey.

The definition of Lotos in the Greek Lexicon, is this:
" A tree whose fruit is so sweet, that foreigners, having tasted
of it, forget their own country — whence the proverb to have
eaten of the Lotus, is applied to those who prefer a foreign
country to their own."

There was a neat proverb among the Romans, derived
from this fruit — it was in two words: " Lotum gustavit" —
that is, " He has tasted the Lotus." It was applied to those
who remained longer than was proper among foreign nations:
because the fruit of .the Lotus is so sweet, that strangers, for
that cause, used to stick to the place where it grew, and where
they have once tasted it. [See Pliny, 13th, 17th.]

In Herodotus, we find a description of another species
of Lotos, an aquatic plant. [Book 2d, Euterpe.']

In speaking of the Egyptians, who inhabit the marshy
grounds, he says: " To procure themselves the means of sus-
tenance more easily, they make use of the following expe-
dient:— When the waters have risen to their extremest height,
and all their fields are overflowed, there appears above the
surface, an immense quantity of plants of the Lily species,
which the Egyptians call Lotos: having cut down these, they
dry them in the sun. The seed of the flower, which resem-
bles that of the poppy, they bake, and make into a kind of
bread: they, also, eat the root of the plant, which is round,
of an agreeable flavour, and about the size of an apple. There
is a second species of the Lotos, which grows in the Nile;
and which is not unlike a- rose. The fruit, which grows from
the bottom of the root, is like a wasp's nest: it is found to con-
tain a number of kernals, of the size of an olive-stone, which
are very grateful, either fresh or dried."

A note in Herodotus tells us — " The Lotos is an aquatic
plant peculiar to Egypt, which grows in rivulets, and by the
side of lakes. There are two species — the one, bearing a
white, the other a blue flower. The root of the first species
is round, resembling a potato, and is eaten by the inhabitants
who live near the lake Menzala." Savory.

We do not find this aquatic Lotos to be " peculiar to
Egypt." It is abundant in India, where it is held in the high-
est veneration. Among the Brahmans, and enthusiastic Hin-
doos, no object in nature is looked on with more superstition}
and their writings abound with mystical allusions to this lovely

plant. As an aquatic, the Lotos is a symbol of the Indian
God Vishnu,* he being a personification of water, or humi-
dity. Brahma, the creative power, is also sometimes repre-
sented as seated on the Lotos, and is borne on its calyx in the
whimsical representation of the renovation of the world.

In the northern parts of India, the petals of the Lotos
are blue, as well as red and white : while, in the Southern
provinces, the blue flower is not seen. The poets have
hence feigned that the crimson hue was imparted to it by
the blood of Sivafi issuing from the wound made by the
arrow of Kama,l when the God of Love daringly endea-
voured to inspire the "king of dread" with an amorous pas-
sion; for which presumption, he was reduced to ashes: or, as
some say, to a mental essence, by the fire which issued from
the forehead of the " three-eyed God."

This aquatic Lotos, is also held in high veneration in
Egypt. A fine bust of Isis, (one of their deities,) emerging
from a flower of the Lotos, which belonged to the late Mr.
Townley, was, on its arrival in England, taken, without hesi-
tation, for Clytie changing into a sun-flower; what is meant
for the Lotos, having a great resemblance to the Helianthus.
This error, very striking to botanists, was immediately cor-
rected by the excellent Mr. Dryander, whose accuracy only
exceeded his vast knowledge. [See Rees1 Cyclopedia.]

* Vishnu, in Hindoo Mythology, is one of the chief deities of the
trimurti or triad. He is reckoned the second person of this mysterious
Unity, being a personification of the preserving power, wisdom, space,
the present, water.

Brahma, the first person, or creative power, matter, the past, earth.

f Siva, the third person in the triad, represents the destructive
energy, justice, time, the future, fire.

J Kama, is the Hindoo God of Love. And, according to Sir Wil-
liam Jones, " appears evidently the same with the Grecian Eros, and the
Roman Cupid."

His bow of Sugar-cane or flowers, with a string formed of bees,
and his five arrows, each pointed with an Indian blossom of a healing
quality, are equally new and beautiful.

Sir W. Jones has addressed a spirited hymn to this deity, in which
Vasanta, (the personification of the season Spring) the bosom friend of
Kama, is represented as preparing the bow and shafts for his mischiev-
ous friend.

" He bends the luscious cane, and twists the string

With bees ; how sweet ! but ah ! how keen their sting !

He, with five flow'rets, tips thy ruthless darts,

Which, through five senses, pierce enraptur'd hearts:

Strong Champa rich in odo'rous gold ;

Warm Jlmer, nurs'd in heavenly mould ;

Dry Nakeser, in silver smiling ;

Hot Kitticum our sense beguiling:

And last, to kindle fierce the scorching flame,

Love-shaft, which gods, bright Beta, name."

The Champa, or Champaka, is a polyndria polygynian flower, the
Micheha of European Botanists; it is of two sorts, white and yellow;
small, and in its foliage like an expanded rose-bud, and of a powerful
fragrance.

The Amer, is said by some to be the Mango flower.

Dry Nakeser, is a handsome flower with white and yellow petals.

The Bela, is a beautiful species of Jasmine.

LOVE IN-A-MIST.

Nigella Damascena.

Nigella, from Niger, black, in allusion to the colour of
the seeds.

There are several species of Nigella, or fennel flower.
Nigella Damascena, or common Fennel flower, Devil in-a-
bush, Love in-a-puzzle, etc., is a native of corn-fields in the
South of Europe, a hardy annual, with double varieties, va-
rying with white and pale-blue petals. Flowers terminal,
solitary, encompassed by a circle of leaves, much like the
rest. Nectaries five, alternate with the petals; their claw
purple; limb green, bent upward at a right angle, with a
spreading, purple, flat, bluntly two-lobed, hairy under lip.
The petals, in the double variety, are multiplied; but nume-
rous stamens remain to perform their office : leaves as finely
cut as those of fennel, but flat.

LOVE LIES-A-BLEEDING.
Jlmaranthus Caudatus.

(See Amaranth.)

The long pendulous Amaranth, with pink seeds, and
purple-red flowers, is commonly called "Love lies-a-bleed-
ing."

Campbell has introduced it into his poem of " O'Con-
nor's child."

And wherefore dost thou love this flower

To call " My love-lies-bleeding?"
This purple flower my tears have nursed;

A hero's blood supplied its bloom:
I love it, for it was the first

That grew on Connocht-Moran's tomb.

* # * #

And cherish, for my warrior's sake,

The flower of " Love-lies-bleeding."

LUPINE.
Lupinus.

Lupinus, so called by Pliny, and other ancient writers .
Professor Martyn says, that the name owes its origin to Lu-
pus, a wolf, because plants of this genus ravage the ground,
by overrunning it, after the manner of that animal.

Lupinus is, also, said to be derived from the Greek
xua-n, grief, whence Virgil's epithet " tristes lupini" — from
the fanciful idea of its acrid juices, which, tasted, produced a
sorrowful appearance in the countenance. Both of these
ideas are avowedly taken from Vossius. R. Ency.

Lupine is a kind of pulse, which was much cultivated
by the Romans. Pliny recommends the white lupine as giv-
ing a fresh colour and cheerful countenance to those who ate
them.

The eating of Lupines was, also, thought to brighten
the mind, and quicken the imagination It is related of
Protogenus, a celebrated painter of Rhodes, who flourished
about the year 328 before Christ, that, during the seven years
he was employed in painting the hunting piece of Jalysus,
who is supposed to be the founder of the state of Rhodes, he
lived entirely upon lupines and water — with an idea that this
aliment would give him greater flights of fancy.

The species of this genus, most cultivated for their flow-
ers, are the white, blue, yellow, and rose-coloured.

The calyx is of one leaf, cloven; corolla papiliona-
ceous.

MAGNOLIA.

A noble genus of shrubs, named, by Plumier, in honour
of Peter Magnol, Botanical Professor at Montpellier, where
he practised physic for a long course of years; and, at the
same time, very assiduously cultivated Botany, not only as an
auxiliary to medicine, but with the most enlarged views to
its advancement as a science of itself. He was not appointed
to the professorship till the year 1694; being a Protestant,
his religion had been in the way of his promotion. He was
beloved for his urbanity, and esteemed for his knowledge;
and, previous to his appointment, as public professor, he had
a botanical class; among whom were Fagan and the illustri-
ous Tournefort. He published several celebrated botanical
works. In 1708, he was admitted a member of the Acade-
mic des Sciences of Paris, in the place of his distinguished
friend Tournefort, who died that year.

Among his communications to this Academy, was an
easy method of tinging the flowers of the Tuberose with a
solution of some kind of lake. He died at the age of 77, in
the year 1715.

The Magnolia Grandiflora, Laurel-leafed Magnolia,
is the most magnificent and beautiful evergreen tree of this
genus. In southern latitudes, it rises to the height of eighty
feet, often much loftier; almost unobstructed by branches,
and terminated by a spreading top of the deepest perennial
verdure. Its flowers are terminal, solitary, each as large as
a pint basin; white, deliciously fragrant, like the flavour of
cold lemonade. The petals obovate, have the texture and
aspect of delicate white leather. The bark of the root of
this tree is also used as a substitute for the Peruvian bark —
according to some of our medical books.

The M. Glauca, Swamp Magnolia, a small tree, with
large cream-coloured flowers, terminal, concave, with a rich
vinous fragrance. Calyx of three leaves ; petals six to twelve,
obvoate, The leaves are, also, beautiful, about three inches
long, varying in breadth, veiny, bright green above, glaucous,
and somewhat silky beneath. To the North, deciduous; in
the South, evergreen.

This species is said to have been the first of its genus
introduced into the gardens of England; having been culti-
vated by Bishop Compton, at Fulham, in 1688.

There are about fifteen species of this genus, almost
equally divided between China and N. America: there is,
also, one species in tropical America. All of them with a
bark more or less camphorated and aromatic.

The Cucumber tree of North America, Magnolia Jlcu-
minata, is a tree of a noble height and beauty: umbrageous,
deciduous; the wood yellow. Leaves clustered at the end of
each branch; but, on its subsequent elongation; becoming
alternate, stalked, pointed at each end, several inches long,
and nearly half as broad; green and smooth above; paler,
and, at first, downy beneath. Flowers neither fragrant, nor
beautiful, though remarkable for their pea- green glaucous
petals more than six, which vary in shape, but are always

concave or channelled, and, usually, about two inches long.
The cones, or seed vessels, have been advantageously used
in the Western States in the form of tincture, in rheumatic
complaints. The cone has very much the form of a cucum-
ber; and, when perfected, is of a vivid red colour.

Several species of this genus are to be found in the East
and West Indies, but none so beautiful as the North Ameri-
can plants, M. Grandiflora, etc.

MARIGOLD.
Calendula.

Calendula, according to Martyn, a diminutive from CaZ-
tha, the name of the most common species, in old authors.

Caltha, supposed to be derived from the Greek xaMtS-os,
a basket, alluding to the shape of the flower.

Ventenat derives calendula from calenda, the Latin for
the first day of every month, because it continues long in
flower.

Marigold E. called in Welsh gold, which is said to be
from gol, going round. In Dutch gondsbloem, gold flower.

Webster.

Johnson derives the name from Mary, and gold, and sup-
posed it to have been devoted to the Virgin Mary. And in
Hone's Every Day Book, the flower is devoted to the An-
nunciation of the B. V. Mary, for the 25th March.

The Calendula closes its petals at certain hours of the
day, and is one of those styled by Linnaeus, the Horologe,
(Horologium, L.) or Watch of Flora. The Leontodon,
Convolvulus, Malva, or Mallow, and many others, are of
this class.

And bright Calendula, with golden hair;
Watch with nice eye, the earth's diurnal way,
Marking her solar, and siderial day,
Her slow nutation, and her varying clime,
And trace, with mimic art, the march of time.

Darwin.

The flowers of this genus have a calyx with many divi-
sions: corolla radiate; florets of the disk, numerous, tubular,
the length of the calyx; the ray strap-shaped, very long,
three-toothed, hairy at the base; seeds of the circumference
of the disk, different from those of the ray, both fertile. Pe-
rennial.

The Tagetes, African, or French Marigold, was first
designated for the emblem, (cruelty) now applied to the whole
genus.

It is a Mexican plant; and the fabulous account of this
species is, that it first became stained and marked with a dark
red, by the blood of the unhappy Mexicans, whom the insa-
tiable Spaniards slew in their own peaceful fields.

According to Gerard, it was first introduced into Europe
about the time that a famous conquest of Tunis was achieved
by a Roman Emperor, and, in compliment to that monarch,
for having given liberty to twenty-two thousand Christian
slaves, it was called Flos. Jlfricanus, or African Marygold.
Its appellation of French Marygold, is from the seeds being
first obtained from France.

M. Pirolle tells us, that these flowers were called Tage-

•*"

tes, from the Greek T*^, meaning principality, (or Tagos,
a commander,) which shows the rank these plants held in
the parterre. [See Flora Historical

MARVEL OF PERU.

Mirabilis.

The Spaniards applied the appellation Mirabilis del
Peru, the Marvel of Peru, to this plant, on account of the
great diversity of colour in its flowers, on the same root.

The French call it Belle de Nuit, because the flowers
expand and smell sweet, at night only. And because its flow-
ers seem too timid to expand their variously coloured corollas
to an European sun.

Sous le voile mysterieux
De la craintive modestie,
Tu veux echapper a nos yeux,
Et tu n'en es que plus jolie.

On cherche, on aime a decouvrir
Le doux tresor que tu receles;
Ah ! pour encore les embellir,
Donne ton secret a nos belles.

JH. Constant Dubos.

The flowers of this genus have a talyx inferior, five-cleft;
corolla funnel-shaped, its base inflated and permanent; nec-
tary a gland surrounding the germen. Plant perennial, in its
several species.

MEADOW SAFFRON.
Colchicum Jlutumnale.

Colchicum, supposed to be so called from Colchis, where
it is said to grow in great abundance.

According to fabulous history, this Autumnal flower owes
its origin to some drops being spilt in the fields, of the magic
liquor, which Medea had prepared to restore the aged .3t!son
to the bloom and vigour of youth ; and, on this account, the
Colchicum was anciently regarded as a preservative against
all sorts of maladies. It is suggested, also, that, as Medea
is sometimes called Colchis, it was the Colchicum that re-
lieved JEson from his infirmities.

The foaming juices, now, the brink o'erswell;
The barren heath, where'er the liquor fell,
Sprang out with vernal grass, and all the pride
Of blooming May.

Tate's and Stonestreet's Ovid.

The moon shines bright * * * * *
* # # * # in such a night * *
Medea gathered the enchanted herbs
That did renew old jEson. Shaks.

Meadow Saffron. — Saffron, E.; Welsh safrwn, safyr;
Fr. safran; Dutch saffraan; Turkish zafran, to be yellow,
to be empty; the root of cipher. Webster.

The root of Colchicum is bulbous, nearly as large as the
Tulip, and is, unquestionably, poisonous. The calyx a spathe ;

corolla monopetalous, tubular, very long, six-cleft; the tube
springing immediately from the root. There are three spe-
cies of it, purple, reddish, and variegated with purple spots:
natives of Europe.

Darwin remarks of the C. Jlutwmnale, or Meadow Saf-
fron, that " the germ is buried within the root, which thus
seems to constitute a part of the flower . These singular flow-
ers appear in the Autumn, without any leaves; whence, in
some countries, they are called naked ladies: in the March
following, the green leaves spring up; and, in April, the seed-
vessel rises from the ground: the seeds ripen in May, con-
trary to the usual habits of vegetables, which flower in the
Spring, and ripen their seeds in the Autumn."

The defoliation of deciduous trees is announced by the
flowering of the Colchicum; of these the Ash is the last that
puts forth its leaves, and the first to lose them.

[See Darwin's JVbtes.]

Then, bright from earth, amid the troubled sky,
Ascends fair Colchicum, with radiant eye,
Warms the cold bosom of the hoary year,
And lights, with beauty's blaze, the dusky sphere.

Darwin.

MIGNONETTE.

Reseda Odorata.

Reseda, a name which occurs in Pliny, and is evidently
derived from resedo, to allay or mitigate — the second syllable
long.

Pliny reports, that this herb is known in the neighbour-
hood of Rimini, and was used for dispersing tumours, and all
kinds of inflammations.

The Reseda Odorata first found its way to the South ef
France, where it is called -Mignonette, Little Darling.
Cowper calls it " The Frenchman's Darling."

Mignonette is said to be derived from the Italian mi, and
nonnette, my young nun. Spanish, JVLinoneta.

Linnteus observes, that there is scarcely any genus whose
character is more difficult to determine — there being such a
diversity of shape and parts, in different species.

The Reseda Odorata, Sweet Mignonette, is a native of
Egypt; a hardy annual, blooming all the year round, if pro-
perly sheltered. Its Jlowers are deliciously fragrant, resem-
bling that of the vine-blossom, or fruit of the raspberry. The
petals several, unequal; segments all very deep, of a pale
buff colour, prettily contrasted with the red anthers; calyx
equal to the corolla, inferior, of one leaf, deeply divided;
leaves flat, undivided, or three-lobed.

No gorgeous flowers the meek reseda grace,

Yet sip, with eager trunk, you busy race,

Her simple cup, nor heed the dazzling gem,

That beams in Fritillaria's diadem. Evans.

MIMOSA; or, SENSITIVE PLANT.
From JWimus, an actor or imitator — its motions imi-
tating the sensibility of animal life.

The plants of this genus, naturally contract themselves

in the evening, and expand with the morning's light. (See
" Structure of Plants," upon the effect of light upon leaves.)

Whence does it happen that the plant, which well
We name the sensitive) should move and feel?
Whence know her leaves to answer her command,
And, with quick horror, fly the neighbouring hand?

Prior.

Naturalists have not explained the immediate cause of
the collapsing of the sensitive plant, when exposed to exter-
nal violence. Darwin asks, " May it not be owing to a numb-
ness, or paralysis, consequent to too violent irritation, like
the fainting of animals from pain or fatigue?"

Weak with nice sense, the chaste Mimosa stands,
From each rude touch withdraws her timid hands;
Oft, as light clouds o'erpass the summer's glade,
Alarm'd she trembles at the moving shade,
And feels alive through all her tender form,
The whisper'd murmurs of the gathering storm;
Shuts her sweet eye-lids to approaching night,
And hails, with freshen'd charms, the rosy light.

Darwin.

There are many species of Mimosa — some, tall trees,
others, humble plants: natives of the East and West In-
dies, kc.

The Mimosa Pudica, common Sensitive Plant, is a na-
tive of South America: it is naturally shrubby; leaves pinnate,
or somewhat fingered; leaflets very numerous, oblong, rather
bristly; the flowers are pale purple, in round, axillary, stalked
tufts.

MOCK ORANGE.
Philadelphus Coronarius.

Philadelphia, the name of a shrub mentioned by Athe-
naeus, which it is impossible for us to ascertain. Caspar
Bauhin first applied it to our Syringa, or Mock Orange, with
which it remains, as the generic appellation. Linnaeus sup-
poses it was designed to commemorate Ptolemy Philadel-
phia, king of Egypt; but a more probable opinion seems to
be, that the plant of Athenaeus was of the twining or clasping
kind; and that the word, by a poetical fancy, was intended
to express its brotherly love for those near it.

Philadelphus was a title, or surname, borne by several
ancient kings — formed from the Gr. *.xo5, friend, lover, and
a^f^eos, brother; i. e. — one who loves his brother, or brethren.

The specific name Coronarius, L. that belongeth to, or
serveth to make crowns or garlands.

The flowers of P. Coronarius are white, and something
like those of the orange; much larger, in dense, terminal, up-
right clusters, powerfully scented; leaves elliptical, recurved,
opposite, on short stalks, dark green, smooth, with broad
shallow teeth; their flavour, on the palate, very like the cu-
cumber.

MOSS MUSCUS.

.Mosses Musci.
Moss, E. — Sax. meos; Welsh mwswg, from mws, that

shoots up, and of a strong scent. Latin muscus; Greek
j"°<r%°;5 the two latter words signify moss and musk, both
from shooting out; the Greek word also signifies a young
animal, and a shoot or twig. French mousse, from which
comes mousseline, muslin, from its softness or resemblance
to muslin. Lunier says it is from Mossoul, a city of Meso-
potamia. Webster.

Musci, origin unknown. The word occurs often in the
best Latin writers. Ambrosinus deduces it from a Greek
word, M3<r%os — a young calf, or lamb, as well as the young
shoot or tendril of a plant, which is not an improbable ety-
mology, and is adopted by Ray.

The older botanists have still more difficulty in defining
the nature of a Moss, than in the derivation of its name.

.Rees' Cyclopedia.

Mosses are interesting little evergreens, with distinct
leaves, and frequently as distinct a stem. They are found
in the hottest, as well as the coldest climates, and have the
singular property of reviving vith moisture, however much
dried up.

Ray tells us, that the most perfect kinds are furnished
with organs containing a pulpy matter, that becomes dry in
ripening; and, when arrived at maturity, flies off in the form
of an extremely subtile powder, serving for the propagation
of the plant. Modern botanists, with the aid of magnifying
glasses, have thought that they have discovered both stamens
and pistils, enclosed in a roundish body that grows out of the
bottom of the leaves; and which, when the seed ripens, falls
off.

Mosses are fond of moisture, shade, and retirement: en-
livening the dark recesses of solitude by the vivid green of
their diminutive foliage.

The mossy fountains, and the sylvan shades

Delight no more. Pope

MYRTLE.

Myrtus.

Myrtus, so named from Myrsine, or Myrene, a Grecian
female and priestess, in the Temple of Venus. She was a
great favourite of Minerva; and Venus, as a proof of her own
regard, changed her into the Myrtle; which, at the same time,
she decreed should be green and odoriferous throughout the
year.

Lat. Myrtus', Gr. ^ufTo;.

In the calendar of Julius Caesar, we find the month of
•April under the protection of the goddess Venus: and the
first day of the month, dedicated to Venus, with flowers and
Myrtles.

A myrtle crown was worn by the general to whom an
oration was decreed; the reason of which, according to Plu-
tarch, in his life of Marcellus, was, that, as an oration was de-
creed for some remarkable success, obtained by treaty, or
without much bloodshed, it was proper that the general, at
his public appearance, should be crowned with a tree sacred
to Venus; who, of all the deities, was supposed to be most
averse to the horrors of war.

We find, elsewhere, this Roman crown of Myrtle was
called the oval crown, and given to those who were entitled
to the honours of the lesser triumph, called ovation. It was
customary for the Roman generals, in the greater triumphs,
to sacrifice an ox; and, in the lesser, a sheep — in Latin ovis,
whence the word ovation.

In Sparta, the general who put a period to a war, by po-
licy or persuasion, sacrificed a bullock; but he, whose success
was owing to force of arms, offered only a cock : for, though
they were a very warlike people, they thought it more honour-
able, and more worthy of a human being, to succeed by elo-
quence and wisdom, than by courage and force.

In Herodotus, we are told that the ancients expressed
triumph and joy by the Myrtle. " The hero wore it as a
mark of victory; the bridegroom, on his bridal day; and friends
presented each other with myrtle garlands, in the conviviality
of the banquet. Venus is said to have been adorned with it,
when Paris decided. in her favour the prize of beauty; and,
for this reason, it was deemed odious to Minerva."

[See notes on Polymnia.]

Myrtle was the symbol of authority for magistrates at
Athens.

Concordia, the goddess of Peace and Concord, at Rome,
is represented holding in one hand a pomegranate; in the
other, a bundle of Myrtle. The nature of these trees is, that,
if they be planted a good space apart, they will meet, and
mingle or entwine their branches.

The Myrtle, on thy breast or brow,

Would lively hope and love avow. J. H. Wiffin.

NARCISSUS POETIC.
Narcissus Poeticus.

Narcissus, a name adopted from the poets, who have
fabled that the flower which bears it, originated in the trans-
formation of a beautiful youth, who pined away with admira-
tion of his own image in a fountain . Some have derived it
from a Greek word, va^, stupor — alluding to the effects of
the too powerful odour of the flower; which, in some instan-
ces, produce head-ache, and a partial loss of recollection.

The name of the youth might aptly apply to the stupidity
of his passion, in slighting the fair Echo, in favour of his own
shadow: as, also, to the flower, with its reputed narcotic
properties, before Ovid elegantly combined them.

" When one fair virgin of the slighted train,
Thus pray'd the Gods, provok'd by his disdain;
0, may he love like me, and love in vain."

Jlddison's Ovid.

For, as his own bright image he survey'd,
He fell in love with the fantastic shade;
And o'er the fair resemblance hung unmov'd,
Nor knew, fond youth! it was himself he lov'd.

Same.

The Poetic Narcissus, JV. Poeticus, is the largest of the
white kinds; and known, from all others, by the crimson bor-
der of its very shallow, and almost flat, cup of the nectary.

The double variety is most frequent in gardens: sometimes,
there are two flowers in a sheath.

The JV". Jlngustifolia, narrow-leafed, crimson-edged
Narcissus, is the only one of the genus that resembles it; but
it is scarcely above half so large, with leaves of a narrower
proportion and flatter form, and the edge of the nectary more
erect.

It flowers in April, full six weeks before the Poeticus.

Narcissus fair,
As o'er the fabled fountain hanging still.

Thomson.

For him the sister-nymphs prepare his urn,
When, looking for his corps, they only found
A rising stalk, with yellow blossoms crown'd.

•Addisorts Ovid.

NASTURTIUM.

Tropseolum.

Tropieolum, the diminutive of Tropseum, a warlike tro-
phy.

This fanciful, but elegant name, was chosen by Linnaeus
for the present singular and striking genus, because he con-
ceived the shield-like leaves and the brilliant flowers, shaped
like golden helmets, pierced through and through, and stained
with blood, might, very well, justify such an allusion.

Nasturtium — All that I can find in relation to this word
is in Ains worth; he says " nasitertium, quod nasum tor-
queat — the herb called cresses, or nose-smart." Varro.

The name of Indian cress, applied to it, is in reference
to the cress-like flavour of the herbage.

The Nasturtium major, or Indian Cress, is now the
most commonly cultivated species. It was a daughter of
Linnaeus, Elizabeth Christina, who first observed it to emit
sparks, or flashes of light, in the morning, before sun-rise,
during the hottest months of summer; as, also, at twilight
in the evening: but not after total darkness came on. These
singular scintillations were shown to her father, and other
philosophers.

The ceasing to shine of this plant, after twilight, might
induce one to conceive that it absorbed and emitted light,
like the Bolognian phosphorus, or calcined oyster-shells, so
well explained by Mr. B. Wilson, and others.

The light of the evening, at the same distance from noon,
is much greater than the light of the morning. This is sup-
posed to be owing to the phosphorescent quality of almost all
bodies, in a greater or less degree; which thus absorb light
during the sunshine, and continue to emit it again for some
time afterwards; though not in such quantity as to produce
apparent scintillations, as in this flower.

[See Darwin's Notes.]

" Ere the bright star, which leads' the morning sky,
Hangs o'er the blushing east his diamond eye,
The chaste Trop«o leaves her secret bed;
A saint-like glory trembles round her head;

# * * #

O'er her fair form, the electric lustre plays,
And cold she moves amid the lambent blaze

So shines the glow-fly, when the sun retires,
And gems the night-air with phosphoric fires."

Darwin.

Bright the Nasturtium glows, and, late at eve,

Light, lambent, dances o'er its sleepless bed.

Biblake.

The Tropseolum has a calyx of one leaf, five-cleft,
slightly spreading, acute, coloured, deciduous, with a necta-
riferous spur behind. Five unequal petals, roundish, insert-
ed between the segments of the calyx; the two uppermost
sessile; three lower, with oblong fringed claws.

Darwin observes, that " The nectary grows from what
is supposed to be the calyx; but this calyx is coloured, and,
perhaps, from this circumstance, of its bearing the nectary,
should rather be esteemed a part of the corolla."

The seeds are hot and pungent, much used for pickles:
and the flowers are often intermixed with sallad herbs, both
for ornament and flavour.

There is a double-flowered perennial variety of this spe-
cies, common in green-houses, and readily increased by cut-
tings.

NETTLE.
Urtica.

Urtica, derived from Uro, to burn, or sting, in allusion
to the property which our common nettles are known to pos-
sess.

Nettle, E.— Sax. netl, netele; Dutch, netal; Greek,
xn£>j, from the root of xv<£<», xv»o>, to scratch.

The finely acuminated prickles of the Net tie, if examin-
ed with a microscope, will be found to resemble the stings
of insects, and teeth of adders. Notwithstanding their mi-
nuteness, they are hollow, and convey a poisonous fluid,
which lurks in a small bag at the base of the sting; upon the
sting meeting with resistance, it presses upon this little reser-
voir, and ejects the fluid, a caustic essential oil, into the
wound made by the point.

Nettle is supposed to be derived from the Greek word
VUTTIIV, to sting.

[See Skinner, and Lemon, word nettle.]

Urtica flings
Her barbed shafts, and darts her poison'd stings.

Darwin.

The flowers of this genus have no corolla. The stam-
niferous flowers have a cup or calyx of four roundish leaves ;
instead of the petals, a honey-cup is placed in the centre of
the flower. The pistill\ferous flowers are not, always, on
the same plant, but are sometimes seen on distant ones: they
have a cup formed of two valves, which, closing, supplies the
place of a seed vessel. Seed, solitary, superior, polished.

NIGHT-SHADE.

Solatium, and Jltropa.

Solatium, is among the few ancient names whose source
cannot be traced. Rees1 Cyclopedia.

Ainsworth, derives Solanum, from Sole, but whether he
means the ablative case of Sol, the Sun, or Solee, a city of
Cilicia, (founded by Solon, from whom it took its name) from

whence it may have been originally brought, or where it may
have been first observed, does not appear

Jltropa, from Jltropos, the third Fate, who is supposed
to cut the thread of life. Jltropa is the deadly Night-shade
of Linnaeus, and other botanists.

Solanum and Jltropa, are of the same class and order, as
designated for Solanum in the glossary.

Of Night-shade, Skinner offers the following etymo-
logy:

"Night-shade, Teutonic natschade, Solanum; so call-
ed, either from its dark colour, or, because it produces sleep,
the representative of night; or, rather, according to the Teu-
tonic mode of writing, from the Teutonic nacht, night, and
schade, damage, as much as to say the damage or destruction
of night: because, to wit, it induces perpetual night, at least,
if liberally taken."

The genus Solanum, contains plants of the herbaceous,
shrubby, and tuberous-rooted kinds. Many of them esculent,
as the potato, egg-plant, tomato, &c.

The Solanum Nigrum, Garden Night-shade, has white
flowers, with yellow anthers; corolla of one petal, wheel-
shaped, tube very short; calyx of one leaf, cut half way down
into five erect, acute, permanent segments; berries the size
of currants, usually black, sometimes yellow; stem bushy;
leaves scattered, stalked, ovate, slightly downy, elongated at
the base; wavy, or coarsely toothed at the margin.

Jltropa Belladonna has, also, a one-leafed perianth, five-
parted, gibbous; divisions acute, permanent; corolla one-pe-
talled, bell-shaped, of a dirty violet colour, longer than the
calyx; anthers white, large; berry depressed, furrowed, when
ripe, of a shining black colour, sweet, juicy; stem herbaceous,
about three feet high ; leaves ovate, entire, two together, of
unequal size, petiolated, smooth, of a dull green. The plant
is to be avoided, being a strong narcotic poison. In some
instances, even half a berry has produced fatal effects. Its
root is perennial.

In the genus Jltropa is found the celebrated Mandrake,
or Jl. Mandragora, native of the South of Europe. The
fancied resemblance of some of the roots of this plant to the
human form; the danger of taking them out of the ground, (it
was supposed to cause the certain death of the person who
dared to attempt such a deed,) and the groans emitted by it
when violence was offered, as well as other surprising virtues
ascribed to it, are all equally fabulous.

Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's groan,

I would invent as bitter, searching terms,

As curst, as harsh, and horrible to hear Shaks.

And shrieks, like mandrakes, torn out of the earth,
That living mortals, hearing them, run mad. Same.

The Mandrake has a soporific quality, and the ancients
used it when they wanted a narcotic of the most powerful
kind. [See Johnson.]

Come, violent death,
Serve for Mandragora, to make me sleep.

Webster's Duchess of Malfy.

Not poppy, nor Mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever med'cine thee to that sweet sleep,
Which thou owedst yesterday. Shaks. Othello.

Our common Poke-weed, Phytolacca Decandra, is
called the American Night-shade.

OAK.

Quercus.

Quercus, supposed to be derived from the Celtic, quer,
fine, and cuez, a tree. The Oak tree was, also, called in the
Celtic tongue, derw — whence came the word Druid, or Priest
of the Oak.

The etymology of druid, preferred by Skinner, is the
Greek word jfU;, signifying an Oak: "Which tree they held
sacred, and under which they offered their sacrifices." (See
Pliny and others.) " For I have no doubt," he adds, " that
the Massilian Greeks called these priests by this name, on
account of their worship of oak trees, from whom the word
was transferred to the Romans, and not that these priests
called themselves druids."

Oak, E. Sax. ac, sec; Dutch eik or eikboom; Danish
eege-trsee. It is probable that the first syllable, oak, was
originally an adjective, expressing some quality, as hard, or
strong, and by the disuse of the tree, OAK became the name
of the tree. Webster.

The Oak has no corolla, a calyx of one leaf, bell-shaped,
membraneous, with about five small sharp, often cloven, seg-
ments. The varieties of the species are too great, to at-
tempt a description of their foliage, and too well known to
require it.

Several of the species yield the well known substance
called cork, particularly the Q. Suber, or Cork tree, native
of the South of Europe, and North of Africa. When this
tree is about fifteen years old, the bark, which is a remarkably
thick and spongy coat, may be stripped off, successively, for
about eight years; it immediately renews itself— and, if not
removed, it is pushed up, by a second growth, forming under
that of the preceding year. Its quality improves with the age
of the tree.

The oak attains to a great age.

The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,
Shoots rising up, and spreads, by slow degrees:
Three centuries he grows, and three he stays
Supreme in state, and in three more decays.

Dry den.

Among the Romans, there were various kinds of crowns
distributed as rewards of military achievements. The civic
crown, made of a branch of green oak, was given to him who
had saved the life of a citizen in a battle or assault. This
was esteemed more honourable than any other crown. Virgil
calls it " civilis quercus." This crown was conferred on Ci-
cero, for detecting Cataline's conspiracy— and, afterwards,
on Augustus Caesar himself.

Most worthy of the oaken wreath
The ancients him esteem'd,

Who in a battle had from death
Some man of worth redeem'd.

Drayton.

The oak was sacred to Jupiter, the great guardian of
their city; and the Romans might, therefore, deem it the most
proper ornament for him who had preserved a citizen.

Ovid tells us:

In witness of renown,
An Oaken garland did the victor crown.
The Laurel was not yet for triumph borne;
But ev'ry green, alike, by Phoebus worn,
Did, with promiscuous grace, his flowing locks adorn.

OATS.

JLmna.

Jivena, supposed to be derived from aveo, to desire, or
covet, cattle being very fond of it.

[Rees? Cyclopedia.']

" Oates, from the Anglo-Saxon Jit en, Avena : this, per-
haps, from the Saxon Etan, to eat; for, every where, it is
food for horses — and, in some places, for men."

[See Skinner.]

So that Doctor Johnson's offensive definition of Oats:
" A grain which, in England, is generally given to horses;
but, in Scotland, supports the people," — is only a specific ap-
propriation of what Skinner had left general; and is, there-
fore, not quite so original a piece of wit as it has been
thought.

The English name Oat is seldom used in the singular —
only in compound words, as Oat-meal, etc. The second de-
finition of Oat, in Johnson, is " Jl small pipe made of oaten
straw." And in Pitt's Virgil, we are told that " the musical
instruments used by shepherds, were at first made of Oat and
Wheat-straw, and were called Jlvena; then of reeds, and
hollow pipes of box — afterwards of other materials.

In Virgil, Shakspeare, Milton, and others, there is fre-
quent mention of this rural pipe of the pastoral ages.

Then the shrill sound of a small rural pipe,
Was entertainment for the infant stage.

Roscommon.

When shepherds pipe on Oaten-straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks. Shaks.

Playing on pipes of corn, and versing love. Same.

In beachen shades, you Tit'rus, stretch'd along,
Tune to the slender reed your sylvan song.

Virgil's Eclogues.

Charm'd with Arcadian pipe. Milton.

In the third eclogue of Virgil, we find an amusing contest
for supremacy, in music, between two shepherds:

•4-

•*••

Menalcas.

You win a goat by music? * '

* * * *

* * * Whose sole ambition was to draw
The mob in streets to hear thy grating straw.

Damoetas.

Howe'er that be, suppose we trial make?
I to provoke you more, yon heifer stake.

* *• * *

Pollio approves, though rough my rural reed, etc.

The flowers of the Oat have no petals, and are disposed
in a loose panicle. The essential character of the Oat con-
sists in the jointed, twisted awn, or beard, that grows from
the back of the blossom. It is remarkable for the elegance
of its panicle, and the flexibility of the fruit-stalk, which
turns with the slightest breath of wind.

The Oat, from its simply graceful growth, is now con-
sidered a tasteful ornament for a lady's hair; and, for this pur-
pose, beautiful imitations are frequently made of it in gold
and silver.

OLEANDER.

Nerium.

JVenwrn — this Latin name is derived from the Greek
N.)?.ovj and this, again, from the Greek adjective N>JJO;, sig-
nifying humid, or wet, because it grows about rivers.

[See Jlinsworth; and Schrevelius' Lexicon.]

Oleander, E. Fr. Oleandre; the plant rosebay.

Johnson.

JVertwm Oleander, or common Rosebay, natives of the
South of Europe, East Indies, etc. All the species are
beautiful tall shrubs, evergreen, with splendid flowers, usually
of a rose colour. The white variety is the most tender.

Oriental travellers have, with great taste and probability,
supposed this to be the Bay-tree to which the righteous man
is compared by the royal Psalmist.

The flowers are large and rich, with a calyx in five deep,
acute, permanent segments: corolla monopetalous, salver-
shaped, contorted ; its mouth crowned with five divided leaf-
lets; inodorous; seeds crowned with down.

All the species are supposed to have a poisonous quality.
Ladies would do well, therefore, to beware of applying it
to their lips, as is too generally their custom with their bou-
quets.

OLIVE.

Olea.

Olea, L. the celebrated t^i* of the Greeks. The word
is derived from the Greek \it,;, smooth; alluding, probably,
to the nature and qualities of the oil — for there is no remark-
able smoothness about the plant, unless it be the upper sur-
face of its leaves. Its value, on account of its oil, has ren-
dered it famous throughout all antiquity.

The Olive was sacred to Minerva. The Athenians held
it in such repute, that they ascribed its production to their
tutelar deity, Minerva. The famous dispute between Nep-

tune and her, as to the right of worship in the capital of At-
tica, being referred to the gods, it was decided that which
ever of the two should give to the inhabitants of the earth the
most useful present, should have the patronage of the city.
The Olive, produced by Minerva, being the emblem of peace
and comfort, was, unanimously, pronounced to be superior to
Neptune's Horse — the symbol of war and bloodshed. Thence-
forth she became the tutelar deity of the city, to which she
gave her own name Jlthenee : therefore, it had been called
Cecropia, in honour of its founder Cecrops.

The Olive, as an emblem of peace, is as old as the de-
luge. It was a branch of Olive, brought back to the Ark by
Noah's dove, which testified that the waters, the ministers of
Heaven's vengeance, had subsided.

I hold the Olive in my hand: my words are
As full of peace as of matter.

Shaks.

To thee the Heavens, in thy nativity,

Adjur'd an Olive branch, and laurel crown,

As likely to be blest in peace and war. Shaks.

In Rome, a particular sort of coronet, made with Olive
boughs, was bestowed in consideration of some signal act of
valour.

The Olive is a remarkably long-lived tree. According
to some authorities, flourishing more than five centuries. In
France it is asserted, that there are trees which two men can
scarcely encompass with their arms. The flowers of the
Olive are small, white, slightly odoriferous, and disposed in
clusters like those of the currant: sometimes the clusters are
almost as numerous as the leaves. Each flower consists of a
one-leaf calyx; a monopetalous corolla, divided into four
lobes, funnel-shaped. The fruit is called, by botanists, a
drupe, (drupa, Latin.) Leaves generally smooth, and of a
light green above, whitish and somewhat downy, with a pro-
minent rib beneath.

The Olive is said to be extremely tenacious of life; and
it is asserted that, when the trunk has perished by frost or fire,
it sprouts anew. And that, even if a bit of the bark, with a
thin layer of wood, be buried in the earth, it becomes a per-
fect plant

[See "Michaux's North American Sylva."]

The ancients relied chiefly upon propagation by slips;
an easy and expeditious mode, still generally followed in
Spain.

ORANGE.

Cirrus Jlurantium.

(For Citrus, see Lemon.)

Skinner says, the Orange takes its name from the barba-
rous Latin, Jlurantium — which denotes its golden colour.

From aureo (L. ) golden, colore, colour. The aureum
malum, or golden apple of the ancients. Johnson.

We are told that Citrus Jlurantium, China, or Sweet
Orange, which first made its appearance in Europe, was sent
as a present to the old Conde Mellor, then prime minister to
the king of Portugal: but that, of the whole case sent to Lis-
bon, there was only one tree which lived, and became the

parent of all the flourishing trees since cultivated by the gar-
deners.

The Orange tree is of a middling size. The leaf of the
Sweet, or China Orange, is ovate, lanceolate, alternate, very
little toothed, or not at all; sprinkled with small, resinous,
transparent tubercles, resembling those of some species of
Hypericum. The flowers of the Orange are white, odorous,
in short racemes, towards the end of the branches: its scent
has no rival, and is said to be as salutary as it is delicious, not
affecting the nerves, as that of other flowers, but strengthen-
ing them.

Know'st thou the land, where groves of citron flower,
The golden Orange, darkling leaves embower!
The gentle breezes wave the azure skies;
The myrtle still, and high the laurel rise?

Know'st thou the land: Oh there! oh there!

I long with thee, my lov'd one, to repair.

Oh there! oh there! Goethe.

OX EYE.

Buphthalmum.

Buphthalmum, L. from the Greek /Sous, ox, and o$3*>.j«°;,
eye.

A genus of plants to be found every where between the
tropics: some of them evergreen, all, with yellow terminal
flowers. Herbaceous, shrubby, perennial. Flowers, a com-
mon calyx. Corolla compound, radiate; florets of the disk
numerous, funnel-shaped, with a five-parted, rather spreading
border. Receptacle chaffy.

Ox-Eye, still green, and bitter patience.

Garland of Flora.

PARSLEY.

Jlpium, perhaps, derived from Jlpes, Bees — because
these insects are fond of it. The genus Jlpium includes
parsley, small-age, cellery, etc. — all umbelliferous plants.

Parsley E. — Fr. persil; Swedish persilva; Danish pe-
tersille, persille; Greek n-'Tjoo-sMvav; VSTI^; a stone, and
<T£\>vov, parsley. — Stone parsley growing among rocks.

Although parsley is so commonly used at table, it is said
not to agree with all constitutions; sometimes occasioning
epilepsy, and producing inflammation of the eyes.

[See Rees' Cyclopedia.]

It has the reputation of being a great purifier of the
breath from the smoke of a cigar, etc.

PASSION FLOWER.
Pass (flora.

Passiflora, a name altered by Linnaeus from the Flos
Passionis: derived from the Latin Patior, to suffer, and
Flos, a flower.

The Passion flowers are natives of America: some of the
varieties, to the South, are of a bright red colour: those of
the North are, generally, pale blue, or yellow.

It is said that the plant owes its name to the missiona-
ries, who first discovered it while travelling over the country.
The instruments of our Saviour's passion, were thought to be

represented by it. The five stamens were compared to his five
wounds; the three styles, the nails by which he was fixed to
the cross; the column which elevates the germen, to the cross
itself; and the rays of the nectary to his crown of thorns.

The calyx is of one leaf, in five deep coloured segments;
petals five, inserted into the calyx; nectary a complex radi-
ating crown; seeds with a pulpy tunic, about the size of a
lime.

The common blue Passion-flower, P. Cserulea, has
leaves deeply palmate, in five smooth segments.

High o'er the pointal, deck'd with gold,

(Emblem mysterious to behold,)

A radiant cross its form expands;

Its opening arms appear to embrace

The whole collective human race,

Refuge of all men, in all lands! Harte.

PEA EVERLASTING.

Lathyrus Latifolius.

Lathyrus, a name adopted from Theophrastus, whose
Lathuros appears evidently to be, like ours, something of the
pea or vetch kind.

The chief distinction between the pea (pisum) and the
vetchling, (lathynts) consists in the shaft; in the pea, it is
triangular, keel-shaped, and woolly; whilst that of the vetch-
ling is flat and upright, with a woolly summit.

Pisum is said, by De Theis, to be derived from the Cel-
tic Pisen, and that Pisen is the common root of this word in
all languages. Hence the Anglo-Saxon pisa — the English
pea, pease, and still in obsolete Norfolk, peasen; the French,
pois, pesiere; Italian, piso; Welsh, pus; all synonymous
with pisum, said by the learned to be deduced from the Greek
3n<r3v, which means the same thing.

The common garden Pea, Pisum sativum, bearing
pearly-white, inodorous flowers. The field, or grey pea, P.
Jlrvense, with solitary purplish flowers, whose wings are of
a violet purple. The marrow-fat, etc. are the esculent pea
kinds; the roots annual.

Vetchling, or Vetch, is of common origin with vicia, an
old Latin name, derived by some etymologists from vincio,
to bind together, as the various species of this genus twine,
with their tendrils, round other plants.

Lathyrus latifolius, or Great Everlasting Pea, well
known to most people; cultivated for its flowers: it has roots
that endure for a long course of years, throwing out long
climbing stems, which bear large bunches of beautiful crim-
son flowers; leaflets elliptical, in pairs; stem winged; peri-
anth inferior, of one leaf, bell-shaped; corona papilionaceous;
standard very large, inversely heart-shaped, reflexed at the
sides and summit; icings smaller, oblong, somewhat crescent-
shaped; keel semicircular, the size of the wings, but broader,
separating about the middle, inwards. Native of Europe.

SWEET PEA.
Lathyrus Odoratus.

Common Sweet Pea, L. O. is a hardy annual, native of
Sicily and Ceylon. Stalks two-flowered. Leaflets ovate,
oblong, two to each branched tendril; legumes hairy.

The fragrance of the Sweet Pea blossom is similar to
that of the Orange flowers, with a mixture of the rose. These
blossoms are peculiar for their elegant negligence of form,
and delicacy and richness of colouring, varied with claret-co-
lour, blue, lilac, rose, white, etc ., all in the same flower. It
is much cultivated by the market florists.

Here are Sweet Peas, on tip-toe for a flight,

With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white,

And taper fingers catching at all things,

To bind them all about, with tiny rings. Keats.

PEACH BLOSSOM.

Jlmygdalus.

(For Amygdalus, see Almond.)

Peach E. — Fr. peche; It. pesca; Lat. malum persicum,

a tree and fruit. See Webster and Johnson.

The native country of the peach is not known. It came

to the Remans from Persia. Jlees' Cy.

Skinner tells us that the name of the fruit, Peach, comes

through the French pesche or peche, and Italian pesca, from

persica, in allusion to the country of its origin.

PENNYROYAL.

Cunila pulegioides, and Mentha pulegium.

Cunila, from the Gr. xo»ix«t. Ainsworth defines it "An
herb whereof there are three sorts, viz. savory, marjoram,
and pennyroyal."

It may be that the word is derived from the Latin cunio,
to defile, on account of its strong scent, which to many per-
sons is disagreeable.

Cunila pulegioides, the N. American species, has stems
seven or eight inches high, erect, pubescent, branched; leaves
oblong, two-toothed, opposite, smooth above, roughish with
short hairs underneath, on short petioles; root annual; flow-
crs in axillary whorls, shorter than the leaves, continued from
the upper to the lower pair of leaves; two lower divisions of
the calyx bristle-shaped, ciliated. It has a strong scent, and
an infusion of it is said by Kalm to be used by persons who
have taken cold, and have a pain in their limbs.

Mentha, the name of the English plant, is an ancient
Latin name, mostly written menta, adopted from the Greeks,
whose /tivSii (mint) is synonymous with their ^Juoovio; (mint,
cinnamon) the latter being generally used. See Dioscorides,
book 3, chap. 41.

The nymph JWintha, a favourite of Pluto, is fabled to
have been changed by Proserpine into this herb.

Our common mint, is of this genus.

The Mentha pulegium, common pennyroyal of England,
has flowers whorled. Leaves ovate. Stems prostrate. Flow-
er-stalks downy. Calyx hairy all over, with fringed teeth.
Corolla twice the length of the calyx; very hairy externally,
shorter than the stamens. The broadest segment of the
corolla is decidedly cloven, as it ought to be in the JVLentha.
The flavour of pennyroyal is peculiarly strong, resembling
Thymus Nepeta, but not confined to these plants. Some
cunilse have the same scent.

Class and order of Mentha, Didynamia, Gymnosper-
mia. Nat. Ord. same as Cunila.

PEONY.
Pseonia.

Pseonia, in memory of Paeon, the physician, whom Ho-
mer records as having cured Pluto with this herb, when he
was wounded by Hercules.

Pseon was a pupil of JEsculapius, who, being jealous on
account of this famous cure, is said to have secretly caused
the death of Pseon; but Pluto, in gratitude, changed him
into the flower which bears his name, and which has been
celebrated throughout all antiquity, for its wonderful virtues;
protecting persons from enchantment, driving away evil spi-
rits, etc.

The superb double crimson Peony of our gardens, P.
ojfficinalis, is a native of Switzerland and the Alps. Calyx
of five leaves; petals roundish, concave, contracted at their
base, spreading, very large, terminal, solitary; stem herba-
ceous, annual, two feet high, with large spreading, compound,
dark-green leaves; the root perennial.

There might ye see the Peony spreading wide.

Cowper.

PERIWINKLE.

Vinca.

Vinca, the best derivation may, perhaps, be from Vin-
cio, to bind, or wrap up: because its long, trailing, or twin-
ing branches, wind themselves around, and entangle every
other plant in their way. Rees1 Cyclopedia.

Periwinkle, Latin, Vinca, Sax. Wincle, a shell-fish.
2. A plant of the genus Vinca. [See Webster.]

Skinner says: "Perwinkle, or Periwinkle, Clematis
Daphnoides — Anglo-Saxon, Perwinc, Peruince, barbarous
Latin, Vinca, Pervinca, so called, perhaps, because Vincit,
it binds up — that is, stops the flowing of wounds, and some
other hemorrhages; or, according to Lobelius, because it
always flourishes, and conquers, and overcomes continually
(vincit and pervincif) the injuries of the air.

In France, the Periwinkle has been made the emblem
of "the pleasures of memory," and sincere friendship. Pos-
sibly in allusion to Rosseau's recollection of his friend Madam
de Warrens, after the lapse of thirty years, produced by the
sight of the flower they had admired together.

The general character of this genus, is a perianth, in-
ferior, of one leaf; corolla monopetalous, contorted, salver-
shaped, inferior.

The Vinca minor, found in every garden, with scent-
less flowers, of a deep blue, white in the centre — or white
flowers, with a variegated leaf— both perennial; stems erect;
while in flower they become trailing, creeping extensively;
leaves evergreen, opposite, about an inch long, elliptic-lan-
ceolate, smooth at the edges. Native of Egypt.

V. Rosea, Madagascar Periwinkle, has an erect, shrub-
by stem; flowers sessile in pairs; leaves elliptic-oblong, en-
tire, rather downy, bluntish, two inches long. Native of the
East Indies, now become a popular green-house plant, flow-
ering the greater part of the year; corolla either rose colour,
or pure white; the centre always of a peculiarly rich crimson,
with a yellow eye.

PHLOX.

Phlox— Greek <px.5«— the PAZoz of Theophrastus. The
name is synonymous with flame; alluding, as is supposed, to
the bright colour, or fiery hue of some of the species.

The genus was termed Lychnidea, by Plukenet and Dil-
lenius, because of its resemblance to Lychnis. But a name
so constructed, being against all rule, Linnaeus evidently took
up the idea of Luchnis (Lychnis) as alluding either to the
shape or to the wick of a lamp, (see Lychnis) and adopted
Phlox, as a word nearly expressive of the same thing.

Fourteen species of this handsome tribe have been enu-
merated. All, except Ph. Sibirica, are natives of N. Ame-
rica; and, as far as we know, of no other country.

Rees' Cyclopedia.

The flowers are showy, of various hues of purple, or
pink; and, in one instance, of a brilliant white, as in the PA.
Suaveolens, fragrant white Phlox.

Ph. Paniculata, Great Common Phlox, or Panicled
Lychnidea, has blossoms of a fine lilac hue; scentless.

Ph. Pyramidalis, Pyramidal Phlox, has flowers in a
dense pyramidal cluster, of a rich purple; honey-scented;
stem purple-spotted : a very ornamental species.

Ph. jyiaculata, Spotted-stalked Lychnidea, or Wild
Sweet William, is a more slender and narrow-leafed species,
frequent in our gardens; distinguished from the last named,
by the recurved teeth of its calyx.

The flowers of this genus have a corolla salver-shaped,
monopetalous; calyx of one leaf, tubular, with five angles,
and five deep acute teeth, permanent; perennial, herbaceous,
entire leafed.

PINE.
Finns.

Linnseus places Pinus amongst ancient Latin names, of
unknown origin. Rees* Cyclopedia.

Pinus, Latin, from the Greek riim?, which, according to
Schrevelius, comes from the Greek adjective riioi/, signifying
fat, because the tree abounds in rezin — resin.

Pine, Fr. pin; Sp. It. pino; L,.pinus; Sax. pinntreow,
pin-tree; Dutch, pyn-boom; Welsh, pin-bren, pin-tree, and
pin-gwyz, pin-wood. These words all indicate that this
name is from the leaves of the pine, which resemble pins.

Webster.

According to Heathen mythology, the pine was sacred
to Rhea, mother of Jupiter. (Rhea, one of the names under
which the earth was worshipped.)

" To Rhea, grateful still the pine remains."

Congreve's Ovid.

Lempriere tells us, that Jltys, a celebrated shepherd of
Phrygia, much esteemed by Cybcle, (Cybele, same as Rhea,
Vesta, Ceres, etc.) because he had introduced her worship
and festivals into Asia Minor, was, after his death, changed
into a Pi?ie tree, by Cybele, and, ever after, that tree was
sacred to the mother of the gods.

Pan, one of the rural deities, was crowned with Pine..
He was in love with the nymph Syrinx, who was transformed
into a bundle of reeds, from which Pan afterwards formed the
musical instrument called Syrinx, or Pan's pipes.

" A crown of Pine upon his head he wore ;

And thus began her pity to implore."

Dry den's Ovid.

Black Spruce Pine, P. JV7gra, to be found from Cana-
da to Carolina. The black, or double spruce, Jlbies Jfigra,
of Michaux — the young branches of which are used in
making the well known spruce beer. The leaves are of a
dark, gloomy green; cones ovate, hardly above an inch long,
crowded about the sides of the last year's shoots, which have
protruded beyond them, and before they become dry, are of
a rich purple.

Pinus rigida, is known all over the United States, by
the name of pitch pine — sometimes in Virginia called black
pine. The spines of the cones being reflexed, not inflexed,
will, at any time, distinguish them.

Pinus Jlbies, Norway Spruce Fir, much cultivated as
an ornament in gardens, etc. The long, sweeping, fan-like
branches, often borne down by loads of snow, have a beauti-
ful appearance. The leaves are copiously scattered all
around the branches, ascending, somewhat imbricated, each
scarcely an inch long, on a short stalk. Cones pendulous,
solitary at the end of each branch, a span long, nearly cylin-
drical, light brown, smooth, of numerous, flattish, rigid, rhom-
boid scales, waved at the edge, and notched at the point.
The Burgundy pitch is prepared from this species.

PINK.

Dianthus.

Dianthus L. from the Greek j(S J.o;, Jove, and an&o?, a
flower. A name given by Linnzeus to the pink and carna-
tion genus, and which signifies Jove's flower.

" Pink, English; Pince, French, from pink, Dutch, an
eye: whence the French word cellet, i.e. eyelet; Caryophil-
lum, Latin." Johnson.

The primitive pink is simple, red, or white, and scented;
by culture the petals have been enlarged and multiplied, and
its colour infinitely varied.

With hues on hues expression cannot paint,
The breath of Nature and her endless bloom.

Thomson.

Each Pink sends forth its choicest sweet

Aurora's warm embrace to meet. M. Robinson.

Florists designate two principal subdivisions, Carna-
tions and Pinks. The latter are distinguished by an eye-
like spot, and a more humble growth, and by some asserted to
be a distinct species.

Carnation.

Spencer writes it Coronation, probably because they
were used on such festive occasions; and from hence, proba-
bly, the present name.

Bring Coronations, and sops in wine,

Worn of paramours. Spencer.

It was also called "Clove-Gtily flmcer," from its clove-

•*••

like scent: and "sops in wine," as it was frequently used to
flavour liquors and choice dishes; being thought medicinal, as
well as agreeable. Hence, also, its modern specific name,
from Caryophyllum, Latin for a clove .

Some derive the English name Carnation, from Carries,
Latin, for flesh colour, which may have been the predomi-
nant original colour of the flower.

" Carnation'd like a sleeping infant's cheek."

Byron.

The floieer of the Carnation is, sometimes, more than
three inches in diameter. The petals crenate, but less
fringed, or notched, than those of the pink — sometimes not
at all so. The calyx more than an inch in length, termi-
nating with broad points, calyx-scales, somewhat rhomboid,
very short.

Indian Pink; or, China Pink.

Its flowers placed singly on branching stems, like those
of the common pink, of glowing vivid red colours. The
marks of colouring most beautiful, in its single state, ob-
scured when the petals multiply. It is scentless, and gene-
rally considered as an annual; but the plant may be pre-
served several years in a dry loamy soil, by cutting down
their flower-stalks before the seeds ripen. They require but
little water.

Mountain Pink. Grey-leafed; or, Chedder Pink.

From its being observed to grow chiefly on Chedder-
rocks, near the village of Chedder, in England. Native of
lime-stone rocks and mountains. The leaves are very glau-
ceous; flowers pale pink, very sweet-scented; of an humble
growth, but aspiring ambition as to situation. Csesius, Latin,
alludes to the grey colour of its herbage.

Red Pink.

The double, of an uniform colour, without blotches, de-
signated.

Pinks have a cylindrical calyx of one leaf, divided into
five teeth at the orifice, two pair of scales at their base.
Corolla, in its single state, of five petals, with long claws
tapering downwards, inserted into the receptacle; borders
horizontally spreading, wedge-shaped, abrupt, crenate, or
notched.

PLEURISY ROOT.

Jisclepias

Jlsclepias, from JEsculapius, the god of medicine, who
is said to have discovered the virtues of the plants of this
genus, and to whom one of the species was anciently conse-
crated.

The English name Swallow-wort, applied to the whole
genus, is from the Dutch Swaluw-wortel — from the fancied
resemblance of the seeds to a swallow flying. The seeds are
winged, as those of many other flowers, which facilitates
their dissemination, being more easily borne off by the wind.

The United States furnishes the greatest variety of this
beautiful and useful genus of plants. The tender shoots of
some are eaten as asparagus. The down furnishes a silk

or cotton used in making mattresses, and manufactured in
various ways. The root is in great repute in the materia
medica.

The Jlsclepias Tuberosa (or Tuberous-rooted Swallow
wort) is variously denominated, as Pleurisy; or Ache-in-the-
side plant, from its medicinal virtues: Butterfly-weed, from
its being a favourite resort of the insects of that tribe, etc.
Its flowers are of a bright orange colour; stems a foot
high, hairy, round, dusky red; leaves alternate, lanceolate.
Native of Virginia, and cultivated in the royal garden at
Hampton court, in England.

The Ji. Decumbens has, also, bright orange coloured
flowers; stem decumbent, a foot and a half high, hairy;
leaves narrow, flat, opposite; umbel compact, at the extremi-
ty of the branches.

There are rose-coloured varieties, white, etc. The ge-
neral character of their flowers is, a calyx five-cleft, sharp,
very small, permanent; corolla monopetalous, flat, or reflex,
five-parted; nectaries five, growing to the tube of the fila-
ments, putting forth a sharp little horn, protruding from the
bottom, bending inwards.

The Jlsclepias Syriaca, or Syrian Swallow wort, abun-
dant in North America, is much used in medicine, as an al-
terative, tonic, etc. the whole plant filled with a milky juice,
perfectly harmless. Flowers of a dingy purple, succeeded
by large oval pods. It is the shoots of this plant, more par-
ticularly, that is made a substitute for asparagus. The Cana-
dians are said to make sugar from its flowers, and to prefer
the cotton of this species.

Jlsclepias incarnata, flesh coloured swallow-wort.
Leaves lanceolate; stem divided at the top; umbels erect,
twin. This puts out several upright stalks about two feet
high; at the top of which are produced close umbels of pink
flowers in August.

POLYANTHOS.

Primula.
(See Primrose.)

Polyanthos, a word used in general to denote a plant
which bears several or more flowers. It is compounded from
the Greek B-SJ.V;, much, many, and av5os, a flower. The
Polyanthos, like the Auricula, produces an umbel of many
flowers on one common scape or stem.

Those most admired, are shaded with a dark rich crim-
son, resembling velvet, with bright golden yellow edges.

" Cinque spotted like the crimson drops
P the bottom of a cowslip.

Bring the rathe Primrose that forsaken dies,

Shaks.

With cowslips wan that hang the pensive head,
And every flower that sad embroidery wears.

Milton's Lycidas.

And Polyanthos of unnumber'd dyes. Thomson.

The love-sick cowslip, that head inclines,

To hide a bleeding heart. Hurdis.

POMEGRANATE.
Punica.

Punica, the malum punicum of the ancients, so called,
it is presumed, because the Romans first obtained this fruit
from the north of Africa. It was sometimes called malum
granatum, in allusion to its internal granulations — whence its
English name Pomegranate.

Punica L. from Pseni, the Carthagenians.

Ainsworth defines punica — 1. Of Africa — 2. Red, scar-
let colour. •

Gen. cha. of the flowers — calyx, superior of one leaf,
bell-shaped, coloured, permanent, in five acute segments.
Corolla of five petals, roundish, rather spreading, inserted
into the calyx. There is a beautiful double variety, valued
on account of their flowers.

The punic granite op'd its rose-like flowers;
The orange breath'd its aromatic powers.

Harte.

POPPY.
Papaver.

Papaver, according to the most learned etymologists,
because the flowers, or fruit, of this plant was formerly mixed
with the pap, or papa, given to children in order to procure
sleep.

This genus is so variously diversified, that two plants are
seldom alike in their flowers.

In the time of Gesner,* the village Damons and Phyl-
lises proved the sincerity of their lovers by placing a petal of
the poppy in the hollow of the palm of the left hand ; which,
on being struck by the other hand, gave a sound that denoted
true attachment, or faithlessness, when it failed to snap.

" By a prophetic poppy-leaf I found
Your changed affection, for it gave no sound,
Though in my hand struck hollow as it lay,
But quickly withered, like your love, away."

The largest heads of the single flowering white poppies
are preferred for the making of opium. These, being wound-
ed as they grow, yield a milky juice, which, by drying, be-
comes opium.

Ceres is supposed to have given rise to the poppy to
assuage her grief, during her search after her daughter Pro-
serpine, who was carried away by Pluto.

Indulgent Ceres knew my worth,
And to adorn the teeming earth,
She bade the poppy rise.

Cowley.

Sleep-bringing poppy, by the ploughman late,
Not without cause, to Ceres consecrate.

W. Browne.

* Gesner was pronounced to be " the greatest Naturalist the world
had seen since Aristotle; the first who ever collected a museum of natu-
ral history, and the discoverer of the only true principles of botanical
arrangement in the flower and fruit, to which the very existence of bo-
tany, as a science, is owing," born at Zurich, in 1516, and lived to the
age of forty-nine.

The herb of the White Poppy, P. Somniferum, is
erect, branched, very glaucous, with broad, obtuse, simple,
wavy leaves, clasping the stem, the upper part of which is
clothed with coarse, spreading hairs; calyx smooth, of two
leaves; petals nearly globose; root annual.

From a poppy I have taken
Mortals' balm, and mortals' bane:
Juice, that creeping through the heart,
Deadens ev'ry sense of smart;
Doom'd to heal, or doom'd to kill,
Fraught with good, or fraught with ill.

Mrs. M. Robinson.

JVoa; (or Night) daughter of Chaos, was crowned with
poppies.

PRIDE OF CHINA.

JYIelia Jlzedarach.

Jftelia, a name adopted by Linnccus for this tree; appa-
rently because its leaves resemble those of the Jlsh, It is a
native of Syria: thrives well in our Southern States.

The pulp which surrounds the nut is said to be poison-
ous; but the berries, when ripe, are eagerly sought for and
eaten by cattle and birds, particularly the red-breast, without
any ill effect. The bark of its roots and branches is esteem-
ed an effectual vermifuge.

In the southern parts of Europe, the nuts are threaded
for beads, to assist the devotion of good Catholics; for which
purpose they are peculiarly suited, having a natural perfora-
tion through the centre. • Hence the tree has been called Jlr-
bor Sancta; and by the Spaniards Jlrbol Parayso. It has,
also, the English names of Bead-tree, or Pride of India.

The flowers have a reddish lilac hue: they form axillary
clusters at the extremity of the branches, and exhale a deli-
cious odour. Calyx of one leaf, five-toothed; petals five; nec-
tary cylindrical, toothed at its mouth, bearing anthers; drupa
a nut of five cells; leaflets ovate, notched, pointed, bright
green above, paler beneath,

EVENING PRIMROSE.

(Enothera.

(Enothera, L., from the Greek oiws, wine, and 3->ij«, a
searching or catching, bestowed upon the plant on account
of the root having caught the perfume of wine, from being
dried.

The (Enothera Biennis, or Tree Primrose, is a North
American plant, with a stem two or three feet high, some-
times branched, leafy, angular, rough, with minute tubercles,
'hairy; leaves alternate, ovate, or lanceolate, toothed, downy;
the lowest stalked, longer, and somewhat waved; flowers
sessile in the bosoms of the upper leaves, so as to form a large
spike; of a fine pale yellow, delicately fragrant; expanding in
the evening. The unfolding of the petals is so sudden, as to
cause an audible sound, from the separation of the calyx-
leaves suddenly appearing in a cup shape, progressively ex-
panding, until they become quite flat; biennial.

You Evening Primroses, when day has fled,

Open your pallid flowers, by dew and moonlight fed.

Barton.

(Enothera sheaths in many a fold,
Of primrose scent and hue her fainter gold,
Nor yet unbinds the firmly clasping zone,
Till eve's mild lustre mingles with her own.

The primrose, tenant of the glade,
Emblem of virtue in the shade.

Jno. Mayne.

Evans.

A tuft of Evening primroses,
O'er which the wind may hover till it dozesj
O'er which it well might take a pleasant sleep,
But, that 'tis ever startled by the leap
Of buds into ripe flowers. Keats.

(Enothera Odorata, Sweet-scented, or Curl-leafed Even-
ing Primrose, was introduced into England by Sir J. Banks,
from the coast of Patagonia, and seems to be likely to super-
sede the other species. It is a tolerably hardy perennial
plant — the stem of which does not die completely down;
beautiful with its waved foliage, yellow blossoms, and desira-
ble for its perfume. Its flowers expand, also, only in the
evening.

Than vainer flowers — tho' sweeter far,

The Evening Primrose shuns the day 5
Blossoms only to the western star,

And loves its solitary ray.

Dr. Langfwrne.

And one, who mark'd with depth of thought,
How the bright day-flowers droop away,

An Evening primrose only bought,
Which opens at the close of day.

Judgment of Flowers.

(Enothera pumila, Dwarf CEnothera, is another North
American species: the smallest of the genus with small yel-
low sessile, spiked flowers, which remain expanded in the
day as well as evening. Perennial root; stems scarcely a
foot high, smooth, reddish; leaves sessile, light green, tinged
with red at their points, rather blunt.

There are also varieties of purple, pink, etc.

PRIMROSE, PURPLE.
Primula.

Primula, from primus, first, a name given to this genus
from their early bloom, being the first offering of Spring.

The Cowslip, Polyanthus, Primrose, Auricula, etc., are
all of this family.

The primrose was anciently called Paralisos, the name
of a beautiful youth, son of Priapus and Flora, who died of
grief for the loss of his betrothed Melicerta, and by his pa-
rents was metamorphosed into this flower, which has since
divided the favour of the poets, with the Violet and the Rose.

Beneath the sylvan canopy, the ground

Glitters with flowery dyes; the primrose first

In mossy dell, return of Spring to greet. Gisborne.

The primrose pale, is Nature's meek and modest child.

Balfour.

The general character of the flowers of the genus pri-
mula, is a calyx of one leaf, tubular, with five angles, and
five acute upright teeth, permanent; corolla monopetalous,
tube cylindrical; limb spreading, cut halfway down into five
heart-shaped segments.

PRIVET.

Ligustrum.

Ligustrum, a name found in Pliny, and other Latin wri-
ters, by which the Oriental Cypros [Lawsonia inermis]
seems originally to have been intended, but which is, now,
universally received for our Privet.

The species generally cultivated is the common Privet,
L. vulgaris. A shrub of five or six feet high; white Jlow-
ers; perianth inferior, of one leaf, tubular, very small; co-
rolla monopetalous, funnel-shaped, four-cleft; berries dark
purple, very bitter, like the foliage and bark: almost ever-
green. It was formerly known by the name of print, or
prim-print, probably from its neat and regular appearance,
when clipped and trimmed.

QUAMOCLIT.
Ipomxa.

Ipomxa, a name given by Linnxus, which he derived
from the Greek 14/5 and o^on;, like: by which appellation he
evidently intended to express the close resemblance of the
present plant to Convolvulus. It has been remarked, that
Linnaeus mistook the meaning of the first Greek word, ly —
which signifies a creeping sort of worm that infests and cor-
rodes vines, and not the Convolvulus plant.

Quamoclit, an Indian name, retained by Plumier, and
Tournefort as generic — but, by Linnaeus used only as the spe-
cific appellation of a beautiful species of Ipomaea, popularly
denominated busy-body. It is an East Indian vine, remark-
able for its finely pectinated leaves and rich crimson blossoms.
This winged-leaf Ipoma;a has a calyx deeply five-cleft,
naked. Corolla monopetalous, funnel, or bell-shaped; limb
five-cleft, spreading, with five plaits; capsule of two or three
cells; seeds two in each cell.

There are two other varieties, with white and orange
coloured flowers.

QUEEN'S ROCKET.

Hesperis.
(See also Rocket.)

Hesperis, the Esperos, or Evening flower of Pliny.
The ancients named this family of plants from Hesper, or
Vesper, Latin, or ET^OS, Greek, signifying Evening — be-
cause they do not discharge their perfume until the evening,
reserving their fragrance for vesper hours.

The Rocket was deemed sacred to Priapus, the god who
presided over gardens and orchards. One of its reputed pro-
perties is, to raise the passions and to excite love.

The Hesperis Matronalis, Queen's Gilly-flower, or
Purple Dame's Violet, has pale purple flowers, very abundant,
exhaling, only in the evening, a very sweet perfume like that

of a pink or stock. leaves ovate, lanceolate, finely toothed;
calyx of four leaflets, cohering, longitudinally, incumbent at
the top, opening at the bottom, deciduous, having two of its
leaves gibbous at the base; corolla of four cruciform, oblong
petals, bent obliquely, with attenuated claws, the length of
the calyx. The whole plant clothed with short hairs. There
is a variety with white flowers,

That keep

Their odour to themselves all day;
But when the sun-light dies away,
Let the delicious secret out
To every breeze that roams about. -Moore.

RAGGED ROBIN.

Lychnis. Flos Cuculi.

(For Lychnis, its generic name, see Scarlet Lychnis.)

Flos Cuculi, or Cuckoo-flower, Meadow Pink, Ragged
Robin, is a species of Lychnis which has had the last witty
name given to it, on account of the finely cut or ragged ap-
pearance of its petals. And Cuckoo-flower, in common with
several other plants that blossom about the time this welcome
and merry messenger of spring begins to sing.

The root is perennial; stem about eighteen inches high,
with rough angles, viscid above; leaves narrow; panicles
forked; corolla of five petals, in four deep linear segments;
pink, very delicate, with a brown, angular, smooth calyx of
one leaf. There is a double variety, as also a white one.

(For Ranunculus, see Butter-cup.)

ROCKET.

Hesperis inodora.
(See Queen's Rocket.)

Hesperis inodora, the common English garden Rocket,
or scentless dame's violet, resembles the sweet-scented Italian
Rocket H. Matronalis, in all except its fragrance. It is a
biennial plant, which thrives well in fresh unmixed earth;
stable litter does not suit it.

The English name Rocket, seems to have come to us
through the Lacin Eruca, which signifies canker-worm, as
well as the name of this plant. And this may have been sup-
posed applicable to it, from its often perishing, without any
known or visible cause.

Which, on the white rose, being shed,
Made it for ever after red.

Herrick.

In rival pomp, see either rocket blow
Bright as the sun, or as the new-fallen snow.

Evans.

ROSE.
Rosa.

Rosa, derived, with most probability, from the Celtic
ros, or rhos. De Theis remarks, that the Celtic rhodd or
rhudd, red, is the primary root of these words, the rose colour
being almost synonymous with redness-

The Rose was consecrated to Venus: and, according to
ancient fable, to her may be traced the red colour of the rose.
When flying to the relief of her beloved Adonis, a thorn
pierced her delicate foot, causing the blood to flow.

Its beautiful tint is poetically traced to another source,
by a modern poet:

As erst, in Eden's blissful bowers,
Young Eve survey'd her countless flowers,
An opening Rose of purest white,
She mark'd with eye that beam'd delight,
Its leaves she kiss'd, and straight it drew

From beauty's lip the vermil hue.

J. Carey.

Since first it bloomed in Eden's bowers,

The Rose is termed the queen ofjlowers. Ba\four.

Their smell divine, their colour strangely red.

Cowley.

Its breath

Is rich beyond the rest; and when it dies
It doth bequeath a charm to sweeten death.

Flood of Thessaly. G. of Flora.

The genus is too extensive for an attempt at description,
in detail, and I find it necessary to suppress the appropriate
notice of each, in their turn, of those before me; confining
myself to only a few of the most interesting species. Among
these I cannot forbear to notice the JVfoss Rose, if only for
the purpose of introducing the fanciful origin of its pre-emi-
nence in beauty.

The Angel of the flowers one day,

Beneath a Rose Tree sleeping lay;

That spirit, to whose charge is given,

To bathe young buds in dews from Heaven :

Awaking from his light repose,

The angel whispered to the Rose,

"Oh! fondest object of my care,

Still fairest found where all are fair,

For the sweet shade thou'st given to me,

Ask what thou wilt, 'tis granted thee."

" Then," said the Rose, with deepening glow,

(< On me another grace bestow :"

The spirit paused, in silent thought, —

What grace was there that flower had not?

'Twas but a moment — o'er the Rose,

A veil of J\to88 the Angel throws;

And, robed in Nature's simplest weed,

Could there a flower that Rose exceed?

Monthly Anthology- G. qf Flora.

There is another strongly marked variety in the Thorn-
less Rose. — Lemaistre, in his touching tale of the "Leper
of Jlostj' tells us that the thorns are produced by cultiva-
tion— this is, I believe, contrary to the received opinion: —
his theory, however, naturally suggested the emblem of in-
gratitude, which has been adopted. This too, it must be
confessed, is a wide departure from the ideas usually asso-

elated with o rose without a thorn, which would more na-
turally present the image of happiness without alloy.

In the " Legend of the Rose," we find another account
of the armour by which this plant is defended:

Young Love, rambling through the wood,
Found me in my solitude —
Bright with dew, and freshly blown,
And trembling to the Zephyr's sighs;
But as he stooped to gaze upon
The living gem, with raptured eyes,
It chanced a Bee was busy there,
Searching for its fragrant fare;
And Cupid, stooping, too, to sip,
The angry insect stung his lip —
And gushing from the ambrosial cell,
One bright drop on my bosom fell.

Weeping, to his Mother he
Told the tale of treachery;
And she, her vengeful Boy to please,
Strung his bow with captive Bees;
But placed upon my slender stem
The poisoned stings she plucked from them;
And none since that eventful morn,
Have found the flower without a Thorn.

The origin of the red and white Rose becoming the
badges of the two houses of York and Lancaster, is beauti-
fully presented to us by Shakspeare, in his " Henry the Sixth."
The white, being selected by the York faction, the red, by
that of Lancaster.

Plantagenet. Since you are tongue-ty'd, and so loath

to speak,

In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts:
Let him, that is a true-born gentleman,
And stands upon the honour of his birth,
If he supposes that I have pleaded truth,
From off this briar pluck a white rose with me.

Somerset. Let him that is no coward, nor no flatterer,
But dare maintain the party of the truth,
Pluck a red rose from this thorn with me.

The subsequent blending of their interests, and union of
the two houses, is prettily typified in the colouring of the York
and Lancaster Rose. Whilst its specific appellation will
always bring to recollection the wars which their contentions
gave rise to.

We find in ancient lore, the Rose was made the symbol
of silence, and consecrated by Cupid to Harpocrates, the
God of silence.

The proverbial expression " under the Rose," arose no
doubt from the two badges of the houses of York and Lan-
caster. These factions were continually plotting and coun-
terplotting against each other. And when a matter of vital
interest to either party was communicated to his friend in the
same quarrel, it was natural for him to add, that he said it

under the rose; meaning that, as it concerned the faction, it
was religiously to be kept secret.

Sub rosa (under the rose) has, by some, been traced to
the ancient custom in Symposiac* meetings, of the attendants
wearing chaplets of roses about their heads.

The Rose is too well known to require a botanical de-
scription, which could only apply to the single rose; only re-
marking that it has but five petals; with an urceolate, or
pitcher-shaped calyx.

The Bridal Rose, Rubus Rossefolius, or Rose-leaved
Bramble, is of the genus Rubus, which includes all the
Bramble family. It has beautiful, double, white flowers,
rather smaller than those of the Cinnamon Rose; slender
round stems: prickles somewhat hooked, small. Leaflets
usually seven, ovate-lanceolate, doubly serrated. It agrees
altogether in the class and order, as designated for the Rose
in the Glossary. It is a rose usually cultivated in green-
houses— first patronised in England by Sir Joseph Banks. Its
native country not known.

ROSE CAMPION.
Jlgrostemma.

Jlgrostemma, L. from the Greek »yeou si^x, the gar-
land of the field. A genus scarcely distinct from the Lych-
nis.

There are four species designated; one is the Corn-Cam-
pion, or Cockle, Ji. Githago, which is hirsute or hairy, with
a calyx longer than the corolla, petals entire, or slightly
emarginate, and naked.

Ji. Coronaria, or Rose Campion, is a biennial plant,
with rose, or flesh-coloured, or white flowers, sometimes dou-
bled, tomentose, with leaves ovate-lanceolate. The petals
of the corolla slightly emarginate, crowned, and serrate.
This species is usually cultivated in gardens.

ROSEMARY.

Rosmarinus.

Rosmarinus, from ros, dew, and marinus, alluding to
its situation on the sea shore. Those who have observed it
mantling the rocks of the Mediterranean, with its grey flow-
ers glittering with dew in Winter, cannot but be struck with
the elegant propriety of the name.

Rosmarinus, sea-rose. — Webster.

The flowers of the garden Rosemary, R. officinalis, are
of a bright blue colour, variegated with purple and white,
having, like the leaves, a strong aromatic fragrance.

It is an erect evergreen shrub, about four feet high,
much branched, downy, leafy on all sides. Leaves opposite,
spreading in a recurved manner, linear-oblong, obtuse, revo-
lute, entire; smooth, dark green, and shining above, downy
and veined beneath. Flowers axillary, terminal, on very
short stalks, erect.

* Symposiac, from the Greek Eu^onz, a drinking together;
<ruv together, and aiva to drink.

Symposiac, a conference or conversation of philosophers at a
banquet. — Plutarch has nine books, -which he calls Symposiacs; or sym-
posiac questions, q. d. disputations at table. Webster and Rees.

From an old opinion of Rosemary-juice having the pro-
perty of strengthening the memory, this plant has been poeti-
cally made the emblem of Remembrance, or Fidelity; and
this was probably the origin of its being worn or used at fune-
rals, and weddings.

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance;
Pray you, love, remember; and there is pansies,
That's for thoughts. Shaks.

And the humble rosemary,

Whose sweets so thanklessly are shed

To scent the desert, and the dead.

Lalla Rookh.

Reverend Sirs,

For you there's rosemary and rue : these keep
Seeming, and savour, all the winter long:
Grace, and remembrance, be to you both. Shaks.

RUE.
Ruta

Rttta, an ancient Latin name derived from the Greek
eu*, to flow, in allusion to some reputed expelling qualities
of the plant.

Rue, E. a contracted word, and so named from its bitter
taste. Sax. reowian, hreowian; Welsh rhuaw, Dutch
rouwen; Ger. reun, to repent. Greek ^rr,, from eu»>.

Johnson tells us, it was called Herb of Grace, because
holy water was sprinkled with it. Jeremy Taylor says of it,
" They (the Romish exorcists) are to try the Devil by holy
water, incense, sulphur, rue, and from thence, as is supposed,
it received the appellation of Herb of Grace."

What savory is belter
For places infected, than wormwood and rue.

Tusser.

The Weasel, to encounter the serpent, arms herself with
eating rue. [See Johnson.

There's fennel for you, and columbines:
There's rue for you: and here's some for me: —
We may call it herb of grace, o' Sundays: you
May wear your rue with a difference. There's a
Daisy: — I would give you some violets, but they
Wither'd all, when my father died. Shaks.

Here did she drop a tear; here in this place
I'll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace.

Same.

Common Rue, Ruta graveolens, is a hardy shrub, culti-
vated, time out of mind, in every garden. The whole herb
has a peculiarly acrid, pungent smell, supposed, powerfully,
to prevent contagion. The bruised leaves excoriate the lips
if incautiously applied to them. The stem is bushy, smooth.
Leaves alternate, twice or thrice compounded, smooth, of a
deep bluish glaucous hue; their leaflets oblong, entire, tapering
at the base. Flowers of rather a dull yellow; copious, inter-
ininal, corymbose panicles.

SAGE.

Salvia.

Salvia, an ancient Latin name, supposed to allude to the
salubrious qualities of the plant — perhaps from the L. verb
salve, God save you, or the adv. salve, well in health.

Sage was supposed by the ancients to possess the virtue
of prolonging human life; hence the following line:

"Cur moriatur homo, cui salvia crescit in horto?"
" How can a man die, in whose garden there grows sage ?"

The common garden Sage, salvia officinalis, is a plant
as well known to the simple, as the wise. Its agreeable aro-
matic bitter, forms a component part in almost all culinary
preparations: and for its medicinal virtues, it has been ever
held in great esteem by all domestic practitioners. An infu-
sion of the leaves, in the form of tea, is considered particu-
larly serviceable to persons of cold phlegmatic habits, labour-
ing under nervous debility. And with the addition of a little
lemon juice and sugar, is a grateful drink in febrile disorders.

"Marbled with sage the hard'ning cheese she press'd."

Gay.

Locke tells us that "by the colour, figure, taste, and
smell, we have as clear ideas of sage, and hemlock, as we
have of a circle."

Its flowers are bluish, an inch long, with a brown viscid
calyx of one leaf, somewhat bell-shaped, two-lipped. Co-
rolla ringent.

SCABIOUS.
Scabiosa.

Scabiosa, derived from scaber, rough, because of the
roughness usual in these herbs, and especially of the scaly
harshness of their heads of flowers.

One of the species, S. atro-purpurea, sweet, or musky,
scabious, has been long cultivated in gardens. Its native
country unknown. Its flowers are very sweet, and there is
a great variety in their colour, some being of a purple, ap-
proaching to black, others of a pale purple, red, variegated,
etc. It also varies in the leaves, some being finer cut than
others.

The dark purple has been popularly called " the mourn-
ing bride."

SCARLET LYCHNIS.

Ijychnis chalcedonica.

Lychnis, L. from the Gr. xu%vi?, derived from xu%vo«, a
lamp. Some have supposed that the appellation arose from
the down of the plant having been used to make wicks of
lamps.

The most probable and apparent explanation of the name,
is, from the resemblance of the calyx of some of the species
to a lanthorn, its sides being semi-transparent between the
ribs or veins, or the whole, in some instances, quite membra-
nous, round, and inflated, like the horn lanthorns still used
by the Chinese. The appearance of the stigmas, stamens, or
crown of the corolla, in several species, would favour the idea
of a lamp with a flame,.

The addition of Chalcedonica may possibly be derived
from Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia, on the Asiatic coast of
the Black Sea, over against Constantinople.

Gerard tells us the flower in question was called " Flow-
er of Constantinople, and Campion of Constantinople." He
also calls it Lychnis Chalcedonica.

Lychnis was formerly used by botanists for all the Cam-
pion tribe, though now restricted by Linnaeus and his follow-
ers to one particular genus of that family.

The L. Chalcedonica, is said to grow wild in all parts of
Russia and Siberia. It is one of the chief ornaments of mo-
dern flower gardens. A hardy perennial, very showy, and
remarkable for the rich vivid scarlet of its blossoms, especial-
ly when double. These appear about June, forming a large,
dense, convex, terminal tuft, two or three inches wide, with
flowers of five petals, border flat, wedge-shaped, often divi-
ded. Calyx perianth inferior, of one leaf, oblong, tubular,
membranous, five toothed, permanent. Seeds somewhat kid-
ney-shaped, roughish. The stem is several feet high, round,
hairy, leafy, but little branched. Leaves ovate, rough, some-
what undulated.

SNAP DRAGON.
Antirrhinum.

Antirrhinum, from the Greek «VTI (L. tequalis,) equal,
and $>v (L. nasus,) a nose. JEqualis defined by Ains worth,
(2) " of the same shape, or stature, as another."

On pressing the sides of this flower, it opens like a gaping
mouth, the stigma appearing to represent the tongue; on re-
moving the pressure, the lips of the corolla snap together,
and hence its name. Some have traced a resemblance to a
calfs snout in the form of its seed vessel, or fruit.

The monopetalous corolla forms a mask, which resem-
bles the face of an animal.

There are many American species, of various colours.
The Calyx is a five-leafed perianth, permanent. Corolla
nectariferous, ringent. Nectary at the base of the corolla,
produced downwards, prominent.

SNOW BALL.

Viburnum.
(See Laurustinus.)

Viburnum Opulus, Common Guelder-rose, Water El-
der, or Snow Ball, is an European shrub, or small tree, smooth
in all its parts, only the backs of the leaves being occasion-
ally downy. Their three lobes are unequally toothed or ser-
rated. Their foot-stalks bear towards the top, several cup-
like glands, and towards the base, a pair or two of linear sti-
pules. Cymes large, smooth, stalked, of numerous white
flowers. Berries scarlet. A variety with globose cymes,
composed entirely of radiant powers, is commonly cultivated
in gardens.

The balls that hang like drifted snow,
Upon the guelder-rose.

London.

Here the Guelder-rose shall fling
Silver treasures to the spring.

Her silver globes, light as the foamy surf,
That the wind severs from the broken wave.

L.E.L.

Cowper.

SNOW DROP.

Galanthus.

Galanthus, L. from the Greek y«x.«, milk, and »i/So;, a
flower; alluding to its milky whiteness.

The G. nivalis, or common Snow Drop, is the only spe-
cies noticed in this genus. It has two varieties, the semi-
double and double flowered. An European plant. It is the
first flower that appears after the winter solstice.

Warm with sweet blushes, bright Galantha glows,
And prints, with frolic step, the melting snows.

* * # *

Chides with her dulcet voice the tardy spring,
Bids slumbering Zephyr stretch his folded wing.

Darwin.

Fair handed spring unbosoms every grace,
Throws out the Snow-drop and the crocus first.

Thomson.

As Flora's breath, by some transforming power,
Had changed an icicle into a flower,
Its name, and hue, the scentless plant retains,
And winter lingers in its icy veins. Mrs. Barbauld,

Calyx, a spatha, opening at the flat side, permanent.
Corolla of six petals, the three innermost shortest, emargi-
nate. Bulbous rooted.

SORREL.
Oxalis.

Oxalis, L. from the Gr. o|«;, sour; a name adopted from
the Greeks; whose oxalis, however, is probably the ucctosa
of the Latins, and belongs to the genus rumex.

Skinner derives the name sorrel from the word sour.
And both the oxalis and rumex have species noted for the
peculiar and grateful acid of their leaves; the plants are de-
signated as the wild sorrel, (oxalis,) and garden sorrel, (ru-
mex,) the latter much used in French cookery, the former
admired for the delicate beauty of its flowers.

Thirteen species of the curious and pretty genus Oxalis,
are natives of America; many of the Cape of Good Hope;
only two of Great Britain.

The Calyx is a perianth of five leaves. Corolla of
five petals connected by their claws, obvate, obtuse, emargi-
nate, spreading. Seeds with an elastic tunic of two valves.
Leaves generally ternate, or three-leafed. Some varieties
have twin leaves, others simple leaves.

The species most abundant in Virginia have pink or lilac
flowers variously shaded — sometimes a bright yellow : farther
north it is found of a pale yellow, delicately pencilled with
crimson, or a pure white, pencilled with pink or purple.

See trim oxalis with her pencilled flower. Evans.

In woodland bowers,
There spring the sorrePs veined leaves.

Charlotte Smith.

SPEEDWELL.

Veronica.

(For Veronica, see Belvidere.)

Many of the species are peculiarly beautiful. Flowers,
generally blue, some a pale pink.

The V. Virginica, Virginian Speedwell, has clusters ob-
scurely whorled, with nearly sessile flowers. Tube of the
monopetalous five cleft corolla, twice as long as the five cleft
calyx. Leaves, four or five in a whorl, elliptic-lanceolate,
stalked; perennial. Spikes long, white or blush-coloured.

There is a purple flowered variety, extremely beautiful,
to be found on the mountains of Virginia.

SPIDER WORT.
Tradescanti. Virginica.
(See American Star Wort.)

Called Tradescanti, after the two Tradescants, father
and son.

The Spider Wort, T. Virginica, the original species
of this genus, was carried from Virginia to Europe by the
younger Tradescant, before the year 1629, as appears by
Parkinson's Paradisus. It is common from Pennsylvania to
Carolina, in shady woods. It has long fibrous roots. Stems
about eighteen inches high, round, leafy, scarcely branched.
Leaves lanceolate, smooth, sheathing, concave, tapering-
pointed, of a dark shining green. Flowers large, of a rich
violet blue, each lasting but a day, or rather a few hours in
the early part of the day, after which they roll up into a li-
quifying pulpy mass; but there being a great number in each
umbel, or tuft, there is a long succession.

The Flower has a calyx of three leaves, permanent and
spreading. Corolla of three petals, ovate, flat, widely spread-
ing, their claws sometimes combined. The six golden an-
thers are brilliantly contrasted with the dark purple shaggy
filaments. It is a perennial plant, blooming throughout the

STAR OF BETHLEHEM.
Ornithogalum.

Ornithogalum, L. from the Gr. o^ nt> ojviSo;, a bird, and
y**.», milk. But the application has proved a stumbling-
block to most etymologists.

The Flora Historica, tells us, that this bulbous-rooted
flower received the reverential title of Star of Bethlehem,
from the formation of its corolla.

It is an extensive genus, the essential character of which
is a corolla of six petals, erect, permanent, their upper part
spreading. No calyx.

ST. JOHN'S WORT.
Hypericum.

Hypericum. Linnaeus deduces the name from the Greek
IVe^, above, and EIXOV, a figure or image. Boerhave says,
"iTref-sixci/ (Gr.) quasi herba, cujus imago eminet."

Native of America — Europe — China, etc. a copious and
handsome genus. The stems either shrubby or herbaceous,
usually angular. Roots perennial. Leaves simple, oppo-
site, sessile, entire. Herbage generally smooth, with glandu-
lar pellucid dots, and an aromatic scent. Flowers terminal,

cymose, yellow and brilliant. Calyx often fringed. Gene-
rally five petals, oblong-ovate, obtuse, spreading.

STRAWBERRY TREE.

•Arbutus.

•Arbutus, a Latin name given to a kind of wild Straw-
berry or Cherry tree, bearing fruit so sour, that Pliny calls
them unedones, because one of them is enough at a time.

[See •Ainsworth.

Strawberry, E. from straw and berry; — perhaps from
the practice of placing straw under the berries, or fruit, whilst
ripening, to keep them clear of the soil.

Home Took considers strawberry, as straw'd-berry,
from straw, or strew, from the manner in which the plants are
set in beds, not cast in heaps, but, as it were, strewed here
and there, at manifest distances.

Several species of the Arbutus are natives of America,
abundant in our swamps.

The berries of the A. Thymifolia, or Thyme-leafed
Arbutus, are brought to the Philadelphia market late in Au-
tumn, and used for tarts. Considerable quantities of them are
exported to Europe and the West Indies — they are much used
in London, though thought to be inferior to the cranberry of
British growth.

The Ess. Char, a Calyx five-parted. Corolla, ovate, di-
aphanous at the base.

SUMACH.
Rhus.

RJms — of doubtful origin. De Theis deduces it from
the Celtic rhudd or rub, red. The fruit of some of the spe-
cies justifies this derivation, those particularly most common
in the United States, as the Rhus glabrum, smooth Sumach.
Neglected corn-fields are soon overrun with this tree, whose
roots subsequently render ploughing very difficult. Its leaves
consist of from eight to twelve pair of longish taper-pointed
leaflets, smooth and naked on both sides. Fruit, a globular
crimson, berry, slightly hisped, the size of an Elder berry.
And the Rhus viridiflorum, green-flowered Sumach, growing
on the edges of woods, in dry sunny situations in Pennsylva-
nia and Virginia. The Jlowers are of a yellowish-green.
Leaves numerously pinnate, ovate-lanceolate, serrated, glau-
cous, and somewhat downy beneath, though not always so.

According to Medical books, the Rhus copallinum, Len-
tiscus-leafed Sumach, (called by Dr. Ewell common sti-
mach,) berries red, and very acid, is a valuable plant. An
infusion of the berries, sweetened with honey, forms an excel-
lent gargle for sore throats, or to cleanse the mouth in putrid
fevers. The bark of the root is considered one of the best
antiseptics produced by vegetation, and forms an impor-
tant ingredient in decoctions for hectic, and scrofulous dis-
eases.

Some of the species of this genus are celebrated for pro-
ducing valuable resins for varnish, as the R. Vernix, Var-
nish Sumach, found in low copses, from Canada to Carolina;
the whole tree very smooth. Leaflets about six pair with
one odd one; elliptical, entire, somewhat abrupt, pointed.
Flowers diaecious. Berries, the size of a pea, white and re-
markably polished, both in a fresh and dry state.

Others, from their caustic nature, have acquired the name
of Poison trees, as the Dwarf Carolina Sumach, Rhus Pu-
milum, stem not above a foot high. Leaves numerously
pinnate, oval, scarcely pointed, deeply toothed, downy be-
neath. Branches, and foot-stalks downy. Fruit clothed
with a velvet down.

The R. Toxicodendron, Trailing Poison-Oak, or Su-
mach, common in woods, fields, and hedges, from Carolina to
Georgia, is a very pernicious plant. Stem creeping, never
erect, but when it meets with support, will climb like ivy to
the tops of the highest trees. Leaves ternate, the leaflets
are of a broad, ovate, or rhomboidal form, pointed, always
more or less downy, at least about the ribs; crenate, cut, or
lobod. Flowers in compound axillary clusters, greenish, diae-
cious. Berries white.

The Rhus cotinus, or Venice Sumach, cultivated in
gardens, is much admired for the very singular and ornamen-
tal appearance of its elongated feathery fruit-stalks. The
shrub grows to about the height of a man, bushy. Leaves
smooth, orbicular, entire. Flowers greenish, or purplish,
small, in terminal compound panicles. Fruit gibbous. The
leaves and stalks, when bruised, have an aromatic but pun-
gent and acid odour. The whole plant is used in Italy for
tanning — as are the different species of this genus in other
countries.

SUN FLOWER.
Helianthus.

Helianthus, L. derived from the Gr. n\n>st the sun, and
»v$of, a flower. The name applied, no doubt, from the re-
semblance which its broad golden disk and ray bear to the
Sun.

The power ascribed to it of constantly presenting its
flowers to that luminary, renders it quite appropriate. But
there are many other plants which possess this power in a
higher degree. This property, where it is eminently conspi-
cuous, has been poetically construed into a sort of sympathy
or perception in the plant, like that of the ancient Heliotrope.
(See Note upon that Flower.)

The H. indicus, Dwarf annual Sun-flower, is a diminu-
tive species, now much cultivated.

The H. annuus, or annual Sun flower, was the first
discovered, and the largest species. A native of Mexico and
Peru. On account of its resemblance to the Sun, it was used
in the religious ceremonies of the ancient Peruvians, who
worshipped that luminary. The virgins, who officiated in
the Temple of the Sun, were crowned with the Helianthus
made of pure gold, and wearing them, also, in their breast,
and carrying others in their hands, which reflecting the rays
of their deity by the brilliancy of the metal, formed an effect
of the most imposing grandeur.

In its native country, it is said to grow to the height of
twenty feet or more, and the flowers to be about two feet
broad.

Great Helianthus

Climbs the upland lawn,
And bows, in homage, to the rising dawn;

Imbibes, with eagle eye, the golden ray,
And watches, as it moves, the orb of day.

Darwin.

Helianthus, like the God of day,

Binds round his nodding disk the golden ray.

Evans.
Uplift, proud Sun-fiowerj to thy favourite orb,

That disk whereon his brightness seems to dwell,
And as thou seem'st his radiance to absorb,
Proclaim thyself the garden's sentinel.

B. Barton.

The H. Tuberosus, tuberous-rooted Helianthus, or Je->
rusalem Artichoke, is a native of Peru. Now much culti-
vated in kitchen gardens, for the sake of its roots, which,
when boiled, have the flavour of the real Artichoke.

/There are many species of the Helianthus, eleven of
which belong to America. Their general character is a calyx
imbricated, somewhat squarrose. Receptacle chaffy, flat,
seed-crown of two leaves. Corolla compound, radiated; flo-
rets of the disk, very numerous, perfect, cylindrical, shorter
than the common calyx. Most of them are perennial herba-
ceous, with large, alternate, heart-shaped, or ovate leaves.
Stalks roughish.

SWEET BRIAR.

Rosa Suaveolens.
(For Rosa, see Rose.)
Suaveolens, Lat. sweet-smelling.
Rosa Suaveolens, is the American Sweet Briar. Flow-
ers pale pink, small, often, but not always solitary. Foliage
delightfully fragrant.

The wild-briar rose, a fragrant cup,
To hold the morning's tear.

London.

Yet, lovely flower, I find in thee

Wild sweetness which no words express,

And charms in thy simplicity,

That dwell not in the pride of dress.

John Langhorn. Fables of Flora.

SWEET WILLIAM.

Dianthus Barbatus.
(For Dianthus, see Carnation or Pink.)
The Sweet William, D. barbatus, is a species of Pink,
indigenous to Germany. The Dutch formerly gave it the
name of Keykens, which is their familiar name for a nosegay
or a large bunch of flowers. — One stem supporting a large
and brilliant bunch of blossoms.

This species of Dianthus has been named Barbatus,
from the hairy or pointed scales of the calyx, which is ovate
awl-shaped, of one leaf. Flowers aggregate, in separate
bundles. Leaves lanceolate. A hardy perennial plant,
thriving best, in a dry calcareous soil.

Sweet William has a form and aspect bright,

Like that sweet flower that yields great Jove delight;

Had he majestic bulk, he'd now be styled

Jove's flower; and if my skill is not beguiled,

He was Jove'a flower when Jove was but a child.

Take him with many flowers, in one, conferr'd,

He's worthy Jove, e'en now he has a beard.

Cowley.
SYRINGA CAROLINA.

Philadelphia inodorus.
(For Philadelphia, see Mock-Orange.)

The name Syringa, which Tournefort retained for this
shrub, originated in a confusion of ideas. It equally belongs
to the Lilac; is of Moorish origin, and supposed to be de-
rived from the Greek <rv%iyi} ru^yo;, a pipe; because the
young branches of Lilac are used in Africa and the Levant
for tobacco pipes. — See Lilac.

Those of Philadelphus are, also, reported to serve the
same purpose.

The P. Inodorus, Carolina, scentless Mock-Orange,
rises with a shrubby stalk, sometimes to the height of sixteen
feet. Leaves shaped like those of a pear tree, entire, oppo-
site, on pretty long foot-stalks. The Flowers are produced
at the ends of the branches, large, inodorus, with four white
oval petals, spreading open. Calyx large, composed of four
acute-pointed leaflets.

The sweet Syringa yields but in scent

To the rich orange. Mason.

THISTLE.

Carduus.

Carduus, said to be derived from euro, a technical verb
denoting the operation of cleaning wool from its impurities.

Ainsworth defines caro, to card, to tease or card wool.

Carduus, is a name given by the ancients to several kinds
of prickly plants, particularly to the Teasel, Dipsacus fullo-
num, also called Carduus fullonum, or Fuller's Thistle,
formerly used in carding wool, as it is still in dressing
cloths.

Thistle, English — Diestel, Dutch — a prickly weed grow-
ing in fields. [See Johnson.]

Tough Thistle chock'd the fields, and kill'd the corn,
And an unthrifty crop of weeds was born. Dryden.

The roots of Thistle have my hunger fed,

Two roods of cultur'd barley give me bread,

A rock my pillow, and green moss my bed. Harte.

Wide o'er the Thistle lawn, as swells the breeze,

A whitening shower of vegetable down

Amusive floats. Thomson.

In Scotland, the order of St. Andrew, or the Thistle,
was instituted by Achaius, one of their kings, to preserve
the memory of the famous league, offensive, and defensive,
entered into between himself and Charlemagne, king of
France. The tressure* of Flew de lys was added to the

* Treasure, in heraldry, is a kind of border.
The arms are a lion, with a border, or tressure, adorned with
flower-de-luces.

Lion, the then royal arms of Scotland, and their king took
for his device the Thistle and Rue, which he composed into
a collar of his order: his motto " Pour ma Defence." To
this collar was hung a jewel, the figure of St. Andrew bear-
ing his cross.

Triumphant be the Thistle still unfurl'd,
Dear symbol wild! on freedom's hills it grows,

Where Fingal stemmed the tyrants of the world,
And Roman eagles found unconquered foes.

Campbell.

THORN APPLE.
Datura.

Datura, from do dare, daturus, Latin for to give, to
bestow, which will give, etc., because it is given as a stimu-
lant. This is the only explanation of the name, that the
etymologists give of it, at least such is given in the Ency-
clopedia.

The Flora Historica tells us, that the generic name of
Datura is the original name by which it was received from
the Turks; and that it is called Thorn Apple, from the nature
of its fruit, which is prickly.

De Theis derives Datura from Datorah, or Tatorah,
the Arabic name of the plant.

It appears to have been carried from Peru through the
East Indies and Persia to Europe. The seed was brought
from Constantinople by Lord Edward Zouch, who gave it
to Gerard, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was much
used in medicine. It is a powerful narcotic.

Their powers mysterious let thy knowledge shift,
Their useful poisons, and their healing gift. De Lille.

Skinner suggests that the word thorn probably comes
from the Saxon verb tseran, to tear.

The D. Stramonium, Thorn Apple, or James-Town
Weed, is a dangerous plant to be allowed to grow where
there are children, as the beauty of its flowers and fruit
tempts them to their destruction. There are several beauti-
ful varieties of this genus. The D. arborea of Peru is the
most splendid of all — each flower being often two feet in
length, and sometimes 150 open at the same time on the tree.

The Datura Stramonium is said to have received the
name of James-Town Weed from the circumstance of a
number of Sailors having been made violently ill from eat-
ing the boiled plant at James-Town, in the first settlement
of Virginia.

The flowers of Datura have a calyx of one leaf, infe-
rior, tubular, five-angled, five-toothed, partly deciduous. Co-
rolla monopetalous, funnel-shaped, plaited. There is a sin-
gular provision of nature observed in these flowers, to pro-
tect them from the humidity of the night air, the leaves near-
est the flowers rise up so as to enclose them and form a com-
plete shelter.

THYME.
Thymus.
Thymus, from the Greek £u», which Schrevelius trans-

lates by the Latin verb suffio, and this latter verb Ainsworth
explains by the verb to perfume. Ainsworth gives the same
etymology of the word thymum or thymus, Thyme.

To enter into a minute description of this plant, would
be certainly time thrown away, both in the writer and the
reader.

T. vulgaris, or garden Thyme, has been known in all
time and to all persons. There are many varieties of the
genus, too tedious to enumerate. The wild thyme has often
been noticed by the Poets: —

No more, my goats, shall I behold you climb
The steepy cliffs, or crop the flow'ry thyme.

Dryderfs Virgil.
Guide my way

Through fair Lyceum's walk, the green retreats
Of Academus, and the thymy vale. Akenside.

TUBEROSE.

Polyanthes tuberosa.

Polyanthes, a name given by Linnaeus, and we must
therefore accept his own explanation of it, which is —

From two Greek words HOM,-, a town, and Ai/3-o$, ajlow-
er, because this plant is generally cultivated, and sold in
towns, for the sake of its elegance and fragrance.

The French know it by the name of Tubereuse — the
English call it Tuberose — both words taken from the La-
tin appellation which it first obtained of Hyacinthus tubero-
sus.

Some write it Polyanthes, as Linnsus originally printed
the generic name; and suppose the etymology to be from a
Greek word jroxug, many.

Tuberose, originated in the old appellation of Tuberous
Hyacinth, Hyacinthus tuberosus, alluding to the tuberous
root, and the resemblance of the flower to a Hyacinth.

It is usually supposed to be a native of the East Indies.
More recently, it has been believed to have come from South
America.

The colour of the Jlower is white, sometimes tinged
with a blush of pink: its odour rich and delicious, most
powerful at night, resembling the flavour of ginger, with great
sweetness, several in a terminal, oblong, bracteated spike.
No Calyx. Corolla monopetalous, funnel-shaped, incurved;
its limb in six equal segments. Leaves scattered, linear-
lanceolate, taper-pointed, sheathing, smooth, pale, and rather
glaucous. Stem simple, erect, round, leafy, sometimes a
yard or more in height. Root perennial, tuberous, somewhat
creeping.

Eternal spring, with smiling verdure here,
Warms the mild air, and crowns the youthful year;
The tuberose ever breathes, and violets blow. Garth.

The tube-rose, with her silvery light,

That in the gardens of Malay
Is call'd the mistress of the night,
So like a bride, scented and bright,

She comes out when the sun's away.

Lalla Rookh.

TULIP.

Tulipa.

Tulipa, an acknowledged barbarous name, said to be of
Persian origin, and to signify a turban. Nor is this article
of dress, in a Persian of rank, unlike the swelling form of a
tulip.

It is supposed to have been brought from Persia to the
Levant. So late as the year 1554, the Turks charged a high
price for these flowers, which would not have been the case
had the Tulip been then growing spontaneously in that coun-
try. Pliny makes no mention of the Tulip, which is corro-
borative of this inference.

Moore alludes to the similarity of the tulip to the tur-
ban, in his " Veiled Prophet."

" What triumph crowds the rich Divan to-day,
With turban'd heads, of every hue and race,
Bowing before that veil'd and awful face,
Like tulip-beds, of different shape and dyes,
Bending beneath th' invisible west-wind's sighs."

Skinner gives the same etymology as the above, and says
that the tulip is the " lily of Solomon."

What in common language is called a bulbous-root, is
by Linnsus termed the hybernacle, or winter-lodge of the
young plant. As these bulbs in every respect resemble buds,
except in their being produced under ground, and include the
leaves and flowers in miniature, which are to be expanded in
the ensuing spring. By the careful dissection of a tulip root
during the winter, cautiously cutting through the concentric
coats, longitudinally from the top to the base, and taking them
off successively, the whole flower of the next summer's tulip
is beautifully seen by the naked eye, with its petals, pistil,
and stamens.

The method of making a tulip variegated, or striped with
divers colours, is by transplanting from a rich soil to one mea-
gre and sandy. The plant is weakened when this effect is
produced, and loses almost half its height. [See Darwin.

And sure more lovely to behold

Might nothing meet the wistful eye,
Than crimson fading into gold,

In streaks of fairest symmetry.

Dr. John Langhorn. Fables of Flora.

The Tulip has no calyx. Corolla bell-shaped, of six
petals, ovate-oblong, concave, erect, deciduous, inferior.
Seeds numerous. The common garden tulip is called T.
Gesneriana. Native of the country bordering on Mount
Caucasus. In a wild state, the petals are crimson, yellow-
ish at the base — now called the parrot tulip.

There are three species of this Tulip, the Cappadocia,
Turkey, and Gesneriana. The last, named after the great
Conrad Gesner, mentioned in the note on Poppy, and it is
distinguished from the others, by its pubescent scape, spread-
ing sweet-scented corolla, smallness of its size, and early
flowering.

The Tulip is made the emblem by which an oriental
lover makes a declaration of love — presenting the idea,

.*..

that like that flower, he nas a countenance all on fire, and a
heart reduced to a coal.

" Whose leaves, with their ruby glow,

Hide the heart that lies burning and black below."

TULIP TREE.

Ldriodendron Tulipifera.

LAriodendron, from the Greek AI^IOV, or AKJIOV, alily,
and jsvJjovj a tree; the Tulip-tree. The Encyclopedia has
it Liriodendrum, — Nuttall, and other Botanists, write it
Liriodendron.

The L. Tulipifera, American Tulip-tree, or yellow Pop-
lar, bears flowers resembling a small tulip, variegated with
pale green, yellow, and orange — standing solitary at the end
of the buds of the branches. The flowers have a calyx of
three leaves, inferior. Corolla, bell-shaped, of six petals.

The young bark of this tree is very aromatic; and the
remarkable shape of the leaves cannot fail to strike the most
careless observer; they seem as if cut off with scissors at the
ends. The elliptical obtuse deciduous stipulas, which cu-
riously enfold the young leaves, are also remarkable. The
tree is celebrated for its size and beauty. Botanists indicate
two varieties of it.

Our attention has lately been drawn to this tree by the
public prints, which tell us, the root has been discovered to
be a sovereign antidote to the venomous bite of snakes. The
bark to be chipped from the root and made into a decoction;
of which half a pint is to be drunk every half hour — the
wound frequently bathed with the fluid, and the bark applied
in the form of a poultice to the part.

Of this genus there are two other species in China, and
one in the Mountains of Amboina.

VENUS' LOOKING-GLASS.
Campanula speculum.

Campanula, Latin, for a little bell.

Speculum, Looking-glass, a name bestowed upon it, as
some suppose, on account of the glossy nature of the seeds;
others, from the corollas seeming to reflect the rays of the
sun.

The flowers are purple, inclining to violet, solitary. Ca-
lyx, perianth, superior, five-cleft, its segments the length of
the corolla. Corolla, monopetalous, flat, wheel-shaped, deep-
lydivided; segments egg-shaped; valves of the nectary scarcely
discernible. Leaves small, sessile, oblong, slightly scolloped.
Stem, from six to ten inches high. Root, annual. A native
of corn-fields in the south of Europe, common in English
gardens.

Towards evening the corollas fold up into a pentagonal
figure, and open, again, with the rays of Aurora.

VERBENA, OR VERVAIN.

Verbena, De Theis derives it from the Celtic ferfaen,
to remove; alluding to one of its supposed medicinal vir-
tues.

Some derive verbena from verro, to sweep or cleanse.
The Greeks called it the sacred herb — and it was with this

plant alone that they cleaned the festival table of Jupiter, be-
fore any great solemnity took place.

Verbena, among the Romans, was the name of some
evergreen aromatic shrub, esteemed sacred, and employed in
various solemn ceremonies.

It was, also, one of those plants dedicated to Venus.
Venus the victorious, wore a crown of myrtle interwoven
with vervain. The Roman Ambassadors, or heralds at arms,
were crowned with vervain, when they went to denounce
war.

A wreath of vervain heralds wear,
Amongst our gardens named,

Being sent the dreadful news to bear,
Offensive war proclaimed.

Drayton.

From its reputed medicinal and divine properties, it was
sometimes worn as an amulet around the neck; and the Ro-
mans, in the beginning of the year, made a present of this
herb to their friends.

The common Verbena officinalis, grows wild in Eng-
land— seldom found above a quarter of a mile from a house,
which occasioned its being called sampler's joy, because it
denoted a house to be near, for the relief of the weary travel-
ler. This species is without fragrance.

The general character of the flower of the Verbena is
a calyx with five teeth, inferior. Corolla, funnel-shaped,
rather unequal, curved; limb spreading, cloven half way
down into five, more or less, unequal rounded segments.

VIOLET.

Viola.

Viola, the common Latin name for Violet, etymology
uncertain. [SeeJ&es' Cj/cZo.]

Violet, Latin, viola, is, by Ainsworth, derived from via,
a way where men go: so, he says, the Greek for the Violet,
which is joi/, is derived from the Greek verb i<v»«, which sig-
nifies to go: possibly, from its being found wild on road-
sides.

Some etymologists trace the name of this flower to la,
daughter of Midas, who was changed by Diana into a Violet,
to hide her from Apollo. And the beautiful modest blossom
still retains the bashful timidity of the nymph, partially con-
cealing itself amidst its foliage, from the gaze of Phoebus.

The trembling violet, which eyes
The Sun but once, and unrepining dies.

H. Smith.

Another fabulous account of the violet, is that it sprung
up on purpose to be the food of the metamorphosed Jo,
daughter of Inachus, who had been changed by Jupiter into
a beautiful white heifer, but fed by Juno's order upon bitter
herbs.

"On leaves of trees, and bitter herbs she fed."

Dryden's Ovid.

The poetry, the romance, the scenery of every country,
is embroidered with violets.

Violets dim

But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes
Or Cytherea's breath. Shaks.

It has a scent as though love, for its dower

Had on it all his odorous arrows tost;
For though the rose has more perfuming power,

The violet (haply 'cause 'tis almost lost,
And takes us so much trouble to discover)

Stands first with most, but always with a lover.

Cornwall.

The prizes of the Floral Games of the Ancients, con-
sisted of a golden violet.

And Virgin's-bower, trailing airily,
With others of the sisterhood.

Keats.

And in that golden vase was set,
The prize — the golden violet.

L.E.L.

Butler, in ridicule of love speeches, and, at the same
time, in recognition of the lover's attachment to this flower,
makes his hero, Hudibras, say to his mistress:

Where'er you tread your foot shall set
The primrose and the violet.

The flower of the genus Viola, has a perianth inferior,
short, permanent, of five ovate-oblong, erect leaves, extended
at their base. Corolla of five petals, irregular, spurred be-
hind, unequal. Nectary projecting betwixt the calyx leaves.

VIRGIN'S BOWER.
Clematis.

Clematis, L. from the G/. xx.^*, a vine-shoot, tendril,
twig.

The flowers of this genus have no calyx. Petals four,
five, or six, sometimes eight, oblong, lax, pubescent. Seeds
tailed.

There are many species of them scattered over the globej
several indigenous to America.

The C. Cirrhosa, Evergreen Virgin's bower — called in
England sometimes Traveller's joy, wild climber, bride's
wreath, virgin's bower, etc. Is a native of Andalusia — quite
hardy, first cultivated in England by Gerard, plants of which
have stood more than fiRy years, in the Chelsea garden. It
has white flowers, petals large, elliptical, pubescent on the
outside. Peduncle, or flower-stalk, scarcely an inch long,
lateral, axillary, one-flowered. Stem, woody, resembling that
of the vine, sending out branches from every joint, which
renders it a thick bus iy plant. Leaves, on the same plant,
both simple and ternate.

C. Viorna, native of Virginia and Carolina. Root pe-
rennial; has purple or bluish-violet flowers, petals with a
whitish cottony border. Anthers terminated with a tuft of
hairs. Leaves, compound and twice compound, opposite,
petioled; leaflets from nine to twelve, three on each pinna,
generally entire. Seeds with long plumose tails.

WALL FLOWER.

Cheiranthus.
(See Gilly Flower.)

Cheiranthus, comprehends Gilly Flower, and Wall
Flower.

Wall Flower is the Keiri of the Arabians. The mo-
dern name Cheiranthus, for wall-Jlower, and the stock, was
given by Linnaeus, who derived it from the Arab-c.

C. Cheiri, named by Gerard, Yellow Stock, and Wall
Gilly-flower, is one of the cruciform flowers, having only
four petals, which expand in the form of a cross. The two
principal varieties are the yellow, and the yellow and bloody.
Numerous trivial varieties have arisen from these.

It is the flower with which the romance writers embel-
lish all decaying embankments, falling towers, and monastic
ruins; enlivening those relics of more prosperous times, by
its gay foliage, and sweet perfume — fit emblem of "Fidelity
in Misfortune."

The Wall-Jlower springs from the disjointed stones.

Greenwood.

To me it speaks of loveliness

That passes not with youth;
Of beauty which decay can bless,

Of constancy and truth.

But in adversity's dark hour
When glory is gone by;

It then exerts its gentle power
The scene to beautify.

An emblem true thou art

Of love's enduring lustre, given
To cheer a lonely heart.

B. Barton-

Same.

To late summer's fragrant breath
Clematis' feathery garlands dance.

Snvith.

WEEPING WILLOW.

Salix Babylonica.

Salix, according to some etymologists, derived from
salio, to rise or spring up. In allusion to the quick growth of
these plants.

The Greek synonyme, means to go, because it grows fast.
De Theis deduces salix from the Celtic sal, near, and lis,
water; applicable to the ordinary situation of the Willow
tribe. The Weeping Willow is usually planted near the wa-
ter, over which its drooping foJiage has an appropriate and
picturesque effect, yet we are told that it thrives best in a
dry gravelly soil, being then less apt to split or decay.

It received its name Salix Babylonica from Linnaeus,
in allusion to the 137th Psalm.

Afflicted Israel shall sit weeping down,

Their harps upon the neighb'ring willows hnng,

Nor joyous hymn encouraging their tongue. Prior.

On the willow thy harp is suspended,
Oh Salem ! its sound should be free,

And the hour when thy glories were ended,
But left me that token of thee.

And ne'er shal' its soft notes be blended
With the voice of the spoiler by me.

Silent their harps — each cord unstrung,
On pendant willow-blanches hung.

Byron.

Booker.

Willow, (gwilou, Welsh,) is defined by Johnson to be
" a Tree, of the boughs of which a garland was said to be
worn by forlorn 'overs."

In love, the sad forsaken wight
The willow garland weareth.

Drayton.

I offered him my company to a willow tree, to make him
a garland, as being forsaken. Shaks.

In such a night

Stood Dido, with a willow in her hand,
Upon the wild sea-banks, and waved her love
To come again to Carthage. Shaks.

I'll wear the willow garland for his sake.

Same.

The S. Babylonica is a native of the east. Leaves lan-
ceolate, taper-pointed. Catldn naked, accompanying the
leaves. As the branches droop, the catkins ascend in a re-
curved manner.

WHEAT.

Triticum.

Triticu:n, an old Latin name, derived from tritum,
ground or rubbed — in allusion to the manner in which grain
is prepared for the food of mankind.

Wheat E. Sax. hwcete; Gothic, hwit; Dutch, weit,
wheat-grass, or corn.

Corn is a term applied to all sorts of grain fit for food,
particularly Wheat, Rye, etc. These also belong to the
grand division of Grosses, which are distinguished from
other plants by their simple, straight, unbranched stalk, hol-
low, and jointed, commonly called straw, with long narrow
tapering leaves, placed at each knob or joint of the stalk,
and sheathing or enclosing it, as if by way of support. The
T. Caninum or bearded wheat-grass, is that which most
pleases the eye on account of the greater length of its beard,
or arista.

The Romans cultivated only the bearded wheat, its bris-
tles serving to protect it from birds, etc.

The flower of triticum, consists of a calyx of two
valves, common receptacle zigzag, elongated into a spike.
Glume (the husk or chaff,) transverse, containing about three,
or more flowers. Corolla of two nearly equal valves, the
size of the calyx.

Ceres, the goddess of corn and harvests, was represent-
ed with a garland of ears of corn on her head. And the
commemoration of the loss of her daughter, Proserpine, was

celebrated about the beginning of harvest; that of her search
after her, at the time that corn is sown in the earth.

WOODBINE.

Lonicera.
(See Honeysuckle.)

Woodbine, or Woodbind, no doi'bt from the flexibility
of its branches, and its habit of twining round, or binding
the trees, or wood, that may be placed near it.

But those who wear the woodbine on their brow,
Were knights of Jove who never broke their vow;
Firm to their plighted faith, and ever free
From fears, and fickle chance, ard jealousy.

Ih-yderi's Vision of Chaucer.

YARROW

•Achillea, Millefolium.

•Achillea, Milfoil, so called from Jlchilles, who is sup-
posed to have acquired some knowledge of botany from his
master Chiron, and to have used this plant for the cure of
wounds, etc. The JL. JVKllefolium, or Yarrow, is reputed
to have great medicinal virtue.

The Yarrow, wherewithal he stopt the wound-made
gore. Drayton.

We find in Medical books, that the green leaves of
Yarrow pounded, and applied to a bruise, dissipates it in a
few days.

Millefolium, of the two Latin words, mille, a thousand,
and folium, a leaf.

Yarrow,— Skinner derives it from the Anglo-Saxon
Gearewe, etc., and adds, that Minshrew derives it from ar-
row, because it is the best healer of wounds, and was, there-
fore, in former times, happily applied to wounds made by ar-
rows—or, perhaps, says he, it comes from the Saxon gear,
the year, because it retains its foliage almost through the
whole year.

The common Yarrow, Ji. Millefolium, is mixed instead
of hops, in their ale, by the inhabitants of Dalekarlia, in or-
der to j,lve it an inebriating quality.

It is generally esteemed a troublesome and noxious weed
in pastures. Its white blossoms, nevertheless, beautify our
fields, and could not well be spared by the lovers of flowers.
Their pearly blossoms have sometimes been seen, at this day,
forming a beautiful ornament for a lady's hair.

ZINNIA.

Zinnia, named by Linnaeus, in honour of Dr. Jno. G.
Zinn, professor of physic and botany at Gottingen, etc.

There are many species of Zinnia, native of warm cli-
mates; many of them indigenous in America. The common
red Zinnia, or Z. Multijlora, is found on the banks of the
Mississippi. Rays, yellow, orange, or brick dust colour.
The Jlowers stand each on a hollow, deeply furrowed, termi-
nal stalk, from one to two inches long, much thicker than
the stem, and gradually swelling upwards. The disk is coni-

cal and acute, composed of reddish or tawny florets, accom-
panied by the prominent, dark-green, or blackish, scales of
the receptacle; the radius of this compound flower, consists
of ten or more broad, elliptical, usually emarginate florets,
of a deep brick-red, and very smooth above; pale greenish,
and rough beneath; reticulated with veins, and finally becom-
ing rigid, or membranous. Calyx imbricated, somewhat
ovate, with numerous obtuse, erect, permanent scales.

Zinnia contains plants of the annual flowering kind,
of which the species cultivated are the N. American plant

just noticed. The Z. Pauc\flora, Yellow Zinnia, with a less
hairy stem, and greater breadth of leaf, somewhat heart-
shaped, at their base. Native of Peru. Z. VerticUlate,
whorl-leafed Z. Flowers, a multiplied radius of deep scarlet,
the disk broader, and less conical, than either of the others.
Z. Elegans, purple-flowered Zinnia. And Z. Tenuifiora,
slender-flowered Z. The flowers being the smallest of their
genus, and distinguished by their bright red narrow revolute
radiant florets, very rough at the edges; the tubular florets
are yellow. The three last named are natives of Mexico.

EXPLANATION OF BOTANICAL TERMS USED IN FLORA'S DICTIONARY.

Jlculcus, prickly, sharp-pointed projections from the bark, as
in the rose. A thorn or spine, is a sharp-pointed
projection growing from the woody substance of a
plant, as in hawthorn.

•Acuminate, pointed, having a taper, or awl-shaped extremity.

•Amentum, see Catkin.

•Articulate, jointed; where one leaf grows out of the top of
another; or the jointed culm or straw of grasses.

Jlwl-shaped, see Subulate.

•Awn, the sharp points or beards issuing from the glume, are
called awns, or aristse, as in bearded wheat.

•Axillary, when the flower-stalk grows between the leaf and
the stem.

Banner, see Standard.

Binate, growing in pairs.

Biternate, twice ternate, or doubly three-leafed.

Bracteated, (L. bractea,) a floral leaf, differing from the
other leaves in shape and colour, generally situated on
the peduncle, so near the corolla, as easily to be mis-
taken for the calyx.

Caducous, falling early. A caducous calyx falls before the
corolla is well unfolded, as in the poppy. Caducous
leaves, fall before the end of the summer.

Campanulate, in the form of a bell.

Canaliculate, channeled, having a deep furrow or channel;
applied to the stem, leaf, or petiole of plants, some-
times to the calyx.

Capitate, growing in a head, applied to a flower, or stigma.

Capsule, the seed-vessel of a plant; a dry membranaceous
hollow pericarp.

Catkin, (or •Amentum, L. a thong, or strap,) is a composi-
tion of flowers and chaff", on a long, slender thread-
shaped receptacle; the whole somewhat resembling a
cat's tail in shape, as in the willow.

Ciliate, fringed with parallel hairs.

Claw, the narrow part of the petal below, by which it is in-
serted or attached.

Compound flower, a flower of the class syngenesia, consist-
ing of florets with united anthers.

Cone, a scaly fruit like that of the pine. See Strobiks.

Connate, opposite, with the bases united, or growing into
one; as in the upper leaves of honeysuckle.

Coriaceous, (from corium, leather,) stiff, like leather, or
parchment.

Corollule, one of the partial flowers which make a compound
one; the floret in an aggregate flower.

Corymb, (corymbus, L. a top, head, or cluster,) a kind of
spike, in which the partial-stalks are gradually longer
as they stand lower on the common stalk, so that all
the flowers are nearly on a level.

Cotyledon, (a hollow, or cavity.) In botany, the perishable
lobe of the seeds of plants. It involves, and nourishes
the embryo plant, and then perishes. Some seeds
have two lobes, others only one, and some none.

Crenate, (scolloped,) when the teeth are rounded, and not
directed towards either end of the leaf, as in ground
Ivy.

Cucullate, hooded or cowled; rolled or folded in; as in the
spathe of •Arumtriphyllum, or Indian turnip.

Culm, or straw, is the peculiar stem of grasses, rushes, etc.

Cyme, has the general appearance of an umbel; as in umbel-
liferous plants, its common stalks, all spring from one
centre, but, differing from those plants, in having the
stalks variously and alternately subdivided, as in elder,
and guelder-rose.

Deciduous, falling, not perennial, or permanent. A decidu-
ous leaf, falls in Autumn. A deciduous calyx, that
which falls after the coral opens.

Decumbent, leaning upon the ground, the base only erect.

Dejlexed, bending downward arch- wise.

Dentate, toothed, notched, having points like teeth on the
margin of the leaf.

Denticulate, minutely toothed.

Depressed, where the radical leaves are pressed close into
the ground.

Dichotomous, forked; dividing into two equal branches.

Diaphanous, transparent, clear.

Digitate, fingered, when several leaflets, or little leaves pro-
ceed from the summit of a common foot- stalk; or, a
leaf which branches into several distinct leaflets, like
fingers.

Disk, the central part of a radiate compound flower. Or the
whole surface or top, in distinction from the edge.

Divaricate, standing out wide.

Dorsal, pertaining to the back, dorsal awn, etc.

Drupe, (Drupa, Drupae,) a pulpy seed-vessel, consisting of a
hard nut or stone, encompassed by a soft pulpy sub-
stance, as the cherry, olive, etc.

Emarginate, notched at the end; applied to the leaf, coral,
or stigma.

Ensiform, see sword-shaped leaf.

Entire. An entire leaf is without teeth or notches. An en-
tire stem, is one without branches.

Fascicle, (a bundle,) a term applied to flowers on little foot-
stalks, variously inserted, and subdivided, collected
into a close bundle, level at the top, as in sweet-wil-
liam.

Filiform, having the form of thread, o.r filament; of equal
thickness from top to bottom.

Floral-leaf, see Bractea.

Floret, a little flower; the separate little flower of an aggre-
gate flower.

Floscule, a partial, or lesser floret of an aggregate flower.

Gibbous, swelling on both sides, or on one

Gland, Glandular, having excretory, or secretory ducts or
vessels. Abundant on the stalk, and other parts of
the Moss Rose, and constituting the most prominent
character of that flower.

Glume, or Husk, the calyx or blossom of grasses and corn,
formed of one or more thin, dry, semi-transparent
leaves, called valves, embracing the seed, often termi-
nated by the arista, or beard. The chaff.

Hirsute, rough with hairs.

Hispid, rough} having strong hairs, or bristles, more than
hirsute.

Imbricated, lying over each other, like tiles on a roof; as
leaves in the bud.

Inferior. An inferior flower, is one in which the calyx and
corolla are below the germ.

Inflexed, turned, bent.

.Inflorescence, a term used to express the particular manner in
which flowers are situated upon a plant. As a bunch,
(thyrsus) a dense or close panicle, corymb, spike, ra-
ceme, umbel, whorl, cyme, fascicle, etc.

Involucre, or involucrum, a sort of general calyx serving for
many flowers; generally situated at the base of an um-
bel, or head; as in co; nus florida, or dogwood.

Involute, rolled spirally inwards; the reverse of revolute.

Keel, the under petal of a papilionaceous flower. Also the
lower side of the midrib of a leaf.

Keeled, or carinated, having a longitudinal prominence on
the back. — See also Papilionaceous.

Labiate, having an upper and lower lip, as in flowers of the
class Didynamia.

Lamina, the border, the upper part, broad or spreading part
of a petal, in distinction from its claw.

Lanceolate, shaped like a lance, oblong, and gradually taper-
ing towards each extremity, spear-shaped, as in the
willow.

Leaflet, a little leaf, or one of the divisions of a compound
leaf.

Legume, a seed-vessel of two valves, in which the seeds are
fixed to one suture only. A pod: differing from sili-
qua, (silique, E.) in which the seeds are attached to
both sutures.

Limb, the border or upper spreading part of a monopetalous
corol.

Linear, of the same breadth throughout, except at the extre-
mities; as in most of the grasses.

Lip, the upper or under side of the mouth of a labiate corolla,
as in sage, hyssop, etc.

Lobed, when divided to the middle, into parts distant from
each other, with rounded, or convex margins, as in the
leaves of sassafras, etc.

J\tembranaceous, flatted or resembling parchment. A mem-
branaceous leaf has no distinguishable pulp between
the two surfaces. Very thin and delicate.

Midrib, the large central vein of a leaf, which is a continu-
ation of the petiole.

Monopetalous, having only one petal, consisting of two parts,
a tube, or lower part, and a limb.

Multifid, many cleft; having many divisions.

Nerves, parallel veins.

Obovate, inversely ovate ; having the narrow end downward.
Officinal, officinalis, kept for sale as medicine.
Orbiculate, in the form of an orb; a leaf that has both its
longitudinal, and transverse diameters equal.

Ovate, egg-shaped ; and the base wider than the other end.

Palmate, hand-shaped; with the fingers extended, or spread.

Panicle, (L. Panicula) a species of inflorescence in which
the flowers or fruits are scattered on peduncles, vari-
ously subdivided, without order, as in Oat, and grasses.

Paniculated, having branches variously subdivided, as a pa-
niculate stem. Or having the flowers in panicles.

Papilionaceous, resembling the butterfly; as the pea. Usu-
ally four-petaled, having an uoper spreading petal,
called the banner or standard: two side petals, term-
ed wings, and a lower petal styled keel.

Pappus, the down of seeds; as that of the dandelion. A
feathery appendage.

Parasitic, growing on another plant, and drawing nourish-
ment from it; as the Mistletoe.

Patulous, spread'ng: as a patulous calyx, etc.

Pectinated, a pinnatifid leaf, the segments of which are re-
markably narrow, like the teeth of a comb.

Pedate, a ternate leaf, with its lateral leaflets compounded
in thei- fore -part.

Pedical, the ultimate branch of a peduncle. A little stalk.

Peduncle, or flower-stalk, is a partial trunk, springing from
the stem, and supporting the flowers, but not the
leaves.

Pellicle, a very thin stratum, or coat.

Peltate, or sliield-'brmed, when the foot-stalk is inserted
into, or near the centre of the lower surface of the
leaf, as in the nasturtium.

Pencilled, ending like a painter's pencil, or brush.

Perfoliate, surrounding the stem on all sides and perforated
by it. It differs 'Yom connate, in not consisting of two
leaves; as in Eupatorium perfoliatum, or American
Thorough-wort.

Pericarp, the seed-vessel of a plant.

Persistent, not falling off. Those parts of a flower are per-
sistent which remain till the fruit is ripe.

Personate, masked. Having the mouth of the corolla closed
by a proinnent palate; as in the Toadfax, (Antirrhi-
num.')

Petiole, a leaf-stalk; the foot-stalk of a leaf.

Petiolated, growing on foot-stalk, as in the currant.

Pilose, hairy. With a stiff pubescence.

Pinnate, a species of compound leaf wherein a simple peti-
ole has several leaflets attached to each side of it.

Pinnatifid, a species of simple leaf, divided transversely, by
oblong horizontal segments, not extending to the mid-
rib.

Raceme, or cluster, consists of numerous, rather distant flow-
ers, each on its own proper stalk, and all connected by
one common stalk, as a bunch of currants.

Radiant, rayed, or radiate coral or flower, is a compound
flower, consisting of a disk, in which the corollets or
florets are tubular, and regular, and of a ray, in which
the florets are irregular.

Radical, proceeding immediately from the root; as the leaves
of the cowslip.

Ray, the diverging florets or petals which form the outside of
radiate flowers, cymes, and umbels.

Receptacle, the end of a flower-stalk; being the base to
which most or all the parts of fructification are at-
tached.

Recurved, bent back or downward.

Reflexed, bent backward.

Reniform, kidney-shaped. Heart-shaped without the point.

Reticulate, net like. Having veins distributed like net-work.

Revolute, ro'led back, or downward.

Rhomboid, diamond-shape, approaching to a square.

Ringent, or labiate corol; one which is irregular, monopeta-
Icus, with the border usually divided into two parts,
called the upper, and lower lip; gaping like the mouth
of an animal.

Rugose, as leaves of sage.

Runcinate, having large teeth pointing backward; as the
leaves of the dandelion.

Sarmentose, running on the ground and striking roots from
the joints, as the strawberry.

Scabious, rough.

Scape, a stalk which springs from the root, and supports
flowers and fruit, but no leaves. As in Narcissus,
Dandelion, and Hyacinth.

Scarious, tough, thin, and semi-transparent, dry, and sonorous
to the touch; as a perianth.

Serrated, Serratures, like the teeth of a saw, and pointing
towards the extremi.y of the leaf, as in the nettle and
rose. Some leaves are doubly serrated, having the
teeth again cut into other little teeth, as in canterbury
bell.

Sessile, or sitting, when a leaf grows immediately to the
stem, or stalk, branch, or root, without any foot-stalk.
A Sessile flower, has no peduncle, or flower-stalk.

Sheath, a tubular or folded leafy portion inclosing the stem;
as the leaves of grasses.

Silique, (Siliqua, L.) a pod or seed-vessel usually longer
than it is broad, with two valves or covers, and sepa-
rated by a linear receptacle, the seeds alternately fixed
to both sutures, or seams, as in the common stock.

Simple leaves, are such as have only a single leaf on the
petiole or foot-stalk; not divided, branched or com-
pounded.

Simple, not divided, branched, or compounded.

Sinuate, having sinuses at the edge.

Sinus, a large rounded indentation or cavity.

Spadix, an elongated receptacle of flowers, commonly pro-
ceeding from a spathe.

Spathe, a sheathing calyx opening lengthwise on one side,
and consisting of one or more valves; as in the onion.
See Spadix.

Spike, a species of inflorescence, in which sessile flowers
are alternate, on a common simple peduncle, as in
Wheat, Rye, Lavender, etc. An ear of corn, or grain,
is called a spike; it is particularly applicable to ears
of maize.

Spur, a sharp hollow projection from a flower, commonly the
nectary.

Standard, the upper petal, or banner, of a papilionaceous
corol.

Stipule, a scale or small leaf situated on each side, and some-
times on one side only, of the base of the leaf-stalks,
for the purpose of supporting them at their first ap-
pearance, as in vetches. Sometimes it is united lat-
terly to the foot-stalk, as in the rose.

Striated, marked with fine hollow parallel lines.

Strobiles, or Cone, a kind of seed-vessel, formed by a catkin,
with hardened scales, and containing a seed withiu the
base of each scale, as in the fir.

Subsessile, almost sessile; having very short foot-stalks.

Subulate, awl-shaped; linear, or slender at the base, and gra-
dually tapering towards the end, like an awl.

Sutures, or seams, the edges by which the valves are con-
nected, which is the external covering of the seed.

Sword-shaped, or Ensiform, two edged, tapering to a point,
and somewhat convex on both surfaces, as in Iris.

Tendril, a filiform appendage of certain vines, which sup-
ports them by turning round other objects.

Terminal, when it terminates a stem, or branch.

Ternate, growing by threes, as in Trefoils.

Thread-shaped, see filiform.

Tomentous, downy, nappy, cottony; covered with hairs so
close as to be scarcely discernible.

Trifid, divided into three parts; by linear sinuses, with
straight margins; three-cleft.

Truncate, having a square termination as if cut off; as the
leaves of the Tiriodendron Tulipifera.

Tuberous, from tuber, a bunch. Consisting of roundish
fleshy bodies, or tubers, connected into a bunch by in-
tervening threads; as the roots of potatoes, artichokes,
etc.

Umbel, a kind of inflorescence in which the flower-stalks di-
verge from one centre like rays; as in the Parsnip,
Parsley, etc. See Cyme.

Undulate, when the middle part of the leaf, especially as it
approaches the margin, is acutely folded up and down,
as in the Mallows .

Valve, the outer coat, shell or covering of a capsule or other
pericarp, or rather one of the pieces which compose
it; also, one of the leaflets composing the calyx and
corol in grasses.

Veiny, when the fibres on the surface of the leaf are branched,
as in the hawthorn.

Ventricose, swelling out in the middle; as a ventricous pe~
rianth.

Verticillate, whorled. Having leaves given off in a circle
round the stem.

Villous, having the hairs long and soft.

Vivaparous, producing a collateral offspring by means of
bulbs.

Whorl, or Verticillate, in which the flowers surround the
stem in a sort of ring, though they may not perhaps be
inserted on all sides of it, but merely on two opposite
sides, and even on one side only.

Wings, the two lateral petals of a papilionaceous flower.

Winged, having the sides extended into a leafy expansion.

POPULAR NAMES.

0

CLASS AND

ORDER.

NATURAL ORDER.

ORDER OP JUSSIEU.

17
13
12
16
6
21
5

6

21

19
13

21
5
10
14
5
14
9
4
17
21
17
13
20
12
16
5
5
5
10
22
19
19
17
5

13
5

19

5
3

6

21
6
19
19

19

12
4
12
5

19

19
21
14
8

1«

Diadelphia . . .
Polyandria . . .
Icosandria . . .
Monadelphia . .
Hexandria . . .
Monoecia . . .
Pentandria . . .

Hexandria . . .

Monoecia . . .

Syngenesia . . .
Polyandria . . .
Moncecia . . .
Pentandria . . .
Decandria . . .
Didynamia . . .
Pentandria . . .
Didynamia . . .
Enneandria . .
Tetrandria . . .
Diadelphia . . .
Monoecia . .
Diadelphia . . .
Polyandria . .
Gynandria . . .
Icosandria . . .
Monadelphia . .
Pentandria . . .
Pentandria . . .

. Decandria ....
. Polygynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Polyandria ....
. Monogynia ....
. Pentandria ....
. Digynia

Papilionaces . . .
Mtiltisiliqucc ....

Leguminosae.
Ranunculaces.
Rosaces.
Malvaceae.
Asphodeli.
Amaranthi.
Amaranthi.

Narcissi.

Corymbifers.

Coryrnbifers.
Ranunculaces.
same.
Lysimachis.
same.
Labiatae.
Gerania.
Labials.
Lauri.
Schrophularis.
Leguminoss.
Euphorbia;.
Leguminoss.
Ranunculaceaj.
Aroideae.
Rosaceae.
Aurantia.
Campanulaceae.
Rubiaceae.
Campanulaceae.
Caryophylles.
same.
Coryrnbifers.
Corymbifers.
Leguminoss.
Amaranthi.

Ranunculaceaj.
Convolvuli.
Corymbiferae.

Lysimachis.
Irides.
Lilia.
same.
Narcissi.
Lilia.
Corymbiferae.

Cichoraces.

Ficoides.
Caprifolia.
Rosaces.
Caprifolia.

Corymbifers.

Corymbifera.
same.
Scrophularis.
Onagrs.
Gerania.

Almond, flowering . .

Columnifera ....
Lilia Coronaris.
Miscellaneae ....
Holeraces ....
Lilia. The Spatha- )
cese of Lin. . . J
Composite. Nuca- )
menttaces . . . $
Composite Radiati
Multisiliquae ....
Conifers

Amaranth ....
Amaranth Globe . .

Amaryllis ....

. Monogynia ....

. Pentandria ....

. Polygamia Superflua .
Polygynia ....
. Monadelphia . . .
. Monogynia ....
. Pentagynia ....
. Gymnospermia . . .
. Monogynia ....
. Gymnospermia . . .
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Decandria ....
. Tetrandria ....
. Decandria ....
. Polygynia ....
. Polyandria ....
. Polygynia . . •. .
. Polyandria ....
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....

Amer. Star wort . .

Arbor Vits ....

Bachelor's Button . .
Balm

Caryophylleoe . . .
Verticillatae ....
Corydales ....
Verticillats ....
Holeraces ....
Personals ....
Papilionaces . . .
Tricoccs
Papilionaces . .
Multisiliqus . . • .
Piperits

Basil

Bay Leaf

Belvidere ....
Bird's foot trefoil . .
Box

Butter Cup ....
Calla .ZEthiopica . .
Calycanthus ....
Camella Japonica . .
Canterbury Bell . .
Cape Jasmine . . .
Cardinal's Flower . .
Catch Fly ....
Cedar

Undetermined by Lin.
Columnifera? . . .
Campanaces . . .
Contorts

Campanaces . . .
Caryophylleae . . .

Decandria .

Trigynia

China Aster ....
Chrysanthemum . .

Syngenesia . . .
Syngenesia . . .
Diadelphia . .. .
Pentandria . . .

Poylandria . . .
Pentandria . . .
Syngenesia .

Pentandria . . .
Triandria . . .
Hexandria . . .
Monoccia . . .
Hexandria .
Syngenesia . . .
Syngenesia . . .

Syngenesia . . .

Icosandria . . .
Tetrandria .
Icosandria . . .
Pentandria . . .

Syngenesia . . .

Syngenesia . . .
Moncecia . . .
Didynamia . . .
Octandria . . .
Monadelphia . .

. Polygamia Superflua .
. Polygamia Superflua .
. Decandria ....
. Monogynia ....

. Pentagynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Polygamia Frustanea .

. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Monadelphia . . .
. Monogynia ....
. Polygamia Superflua .
. Polygamia Superflua .

. Polygamia .ZEqualis .

. Pentagynia . . .
. Monogynia ....
. Polygynia ....
. Trigynia . ...

. Polygamia Superflua .

. Polygamia JEqualis .
. Monadelphia . . ,
. Angiospermia .
. Monogynia ....
. Heptandria ....

Composite Radiati .
Composite Discoides
Papilionaces . . .
Holeraceae . . .
Mullisiliqus, or >
Corniculats . . J
Campanaces . .
Composits. Opposi- )
tifolis . . . . $

Cock's Comb . . .
Columbine ....
Convolvulus ....
C oreopsis Arkansa . .

Ensats ....
Coronariae ....

Crown Imperial . .

Daffodil

Spathaceae ....
Corymbifers
Composite Discoideae
Composites. Semi- \
flosculosae . . . J
Succulents ....
Stellatae
Senticos83 ....
Dumosae
Compositae. Nuca- )
mentaceae . . . J
Composite Discoidae .
Conifers

Dahlia

Dandelion ....
Dew Plant ....

Eglantine ....
Elder

Everlasting ....

Fever Root ....
Fir, Balm of Gilead .
Fox Glove ....

LuridiB

Calycanthems . . .
Gruinales ....

Geranium ....

POPULAR NAMES.

0
•

i

CLASS AND

ORDER.

NATURAL ORDER.

ORDER OP JUSSIEU.

Gilly Flower . . .
Golden Rod, or V
Virga Aurei . . J

15

1!)

r,

3

12
5
5
13

K;

4

K;

15

11
5

5

1

(;

10
2

ii

12
0
3

r,
17
20
13
13
10
5
14
IS
21
2
6
(i
17
17
13
•2\

17
13
1!)
5
6
11
23
12

21

12
6

S
21
5
21
3
5
2
IS
li)
5
5

Tetradynamia . .
Syngenesia . . .

Pentandria . . .

Triandria . . .

Icosandria . . .
Pentandria . . .
Pentandria . . .
Polyandria . . .
Monadelphia . .
Tetrandria . . .
Monadelphia . .

Telradynamia . .

Didynamia . . .
Pentandria . . .

Pentandria . . .

Tetrandria . . .
Hexandria . . .
Decandria . . .
Diandria . . .
Didynamia . . .
Icosandria . . .
Hexandria . . .
Triandria . . .
Pentandria . . .
Diadelphia . . .
Gynandria . . .
Polyandria . . .
Polyandria . . .
Decandria . . .
Pentandria . . .

. Siliquosa ....
. Polygamia Superflua .

. Monogynia ....
Diffvnia

Siliquosa!

Cruciferae.
Corymbiferae.

Vites.

and several Polyga-
mous.
Rosaceae.
Cisti et Violeae.
Borragincae.
Ranunculaceae.
Malvaceae.
Rhamni.
Malvaceae.

Cruciferae.

Rutaceae.
Caprifolia.

Rhododendra.

Rubiaceae.
Asphodeli.
Caprifolia.
Jasmineae.
Bignoniae.
Ficoideae.
Narcissi.
Irides.
Caprifolia.
same.

Salicariae.
Ranunculaceae.
Rhododendra.
Caprifolia.
Labiatae.
Aurantia.
same.
Jasmineae.
Lilia.
Asparagi.
Leguminosae.
Leguminosae.
Ranunculaceae.
Amaranthi.
Leguminosae.
Magnoliae.
Corymbiferae.
Nyctagines.
Colchicaceae.
Capparides.
Leguminosae.
Myrti.

Myrti.
Narcissi.
Geraniis Affine.
Urticae.
Solaneae.
same.

Apocineae.
Jasmineae.
Aurantia.
Corymbiferae.

same.

Composite Discoideas

Hederaceae, or per- )
haps Cucurbitacea? $
Some few are Monce-
cius, none Dioecious,
Pomaceaj
Campanaceae . . .
Asperifolia; ....
Multisiliquae ....
Columnifera . . . .

Grass ....

Hawthorn ....
Heart's Ease . . .
Heliotrope ....
Hellebore ....

. Digynia
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia . . . .
. Polygynia ....
. Polyandria ....
. Tetragynia ....
. Polyandria ....

Holly

Hollyhock ....
Honesty, or Satin )
Flower. . . . J
Honey Flower . . .
Honeysuckle . . .
Honeysucklp, or 7
Azalea . . . . J
Houstonia ....

Columniferae. . . .

. Angiospermia . . .
. Monogynia ....

- Monogynia ....

. Monogynia ....
• Monogynia ....
• Digynia

Corydalea ....
Aggregate ....

Bicornes

Stellatae

Coronariae ....
Succulentae ....
Separiae

Hydranger ....
Jasmine, white . . .
Jasmine, yellow . .
Ice Plant
Jonquil (A Narcissus)
Iris (A Flag) . . .

. Monogynia ....
. Angiospermia . . .
. Pentagynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Decandria ....
Diandria

Personals ....
Succulentae ....
Spathaceae ....
Ensatae

Hederaceae ....
Leguminosae
Orchideae ....
Calycanthemae . . .
Multisiliquae ....
Bicornes

Laburnum ....
Ladies' Slipper . .
*Lagerstro3mia . . .

. Monogynia ....

Laurel (Kalmia) . .
Laurustinus ....
Lavender ....
Lemon blossom . .

. Monogynia ....
Trigynia

Verticillatae ....
Bicornes

Polyadelphia . .
Cryptogamia . .
Diandria . . .
Hexandria . . .
Hexandria . . .
Diadelphia . . .
Diadelphia . . .
Poylandria . . .
Monoecia . . .
Diadelphia . . .
Polyandria . . .
Syngenesia . . .
Pentandria . . .
Hexandria . . .
Dodecandria . .
Polygamia . . .
Icosandria . . .

Cryptogamia . .

Icosandria . . .
Hexandria . . .
Octandria . . .
Mona;cia . . .
Pentandria . . .
Monoecia . . .
Triandria . . .
Pentandria . . .
Diandria . . .
Polyadelphia . .
Syngenesia . . .
Pentandria . . .
Pentandria .

. Icosandria ....
Alga;

. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Decandria ....
. Decandria ....
. Pentagynia ....
. Pentandria ....
• Decandria ....
. Polygynia ....
. Polygamia necescaria .
. Monogynia ....
Trigynia

Lily

Coronariae ....
Sarmentaceae . . .
Papilionaceas . . .
Papilionaceae ...
Multisiliquee. . . .
Miscellaneae ....
Papilionaceae . . .
Coadunatae ....
Compositae Discoideae
Aggregate ....
Spathaceae ....
Miscellaneas ....
Lomentaceae. . . .
Hesperideae ....

Hesperideae ....
Spathaceae ....
Trihilateae ....
Scabridffi
Ijinilii'

Lily of the Valley . .

Lotos or Lotus . . .
Love in a mist . . .
Love lies-a-bleeding .
Lupine

Marvel of Peru . .
Meadow Saffron . .
Mignonette ....
Mimosa

. Trigynia .....
. Monoecia
. Monogynia ....
The second order of )
this class. $
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Tetrandria ....
. Monogynia ....
. Polyandria ....
. Digynia
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Icosandria ....
. Polygamia Superflua .
. Digynia
. Trvzinia .

Mock Orange . . .

Myrtle

Narcissus ....
Nasturtium ....
Nettle

Nightshade ....
Oak

Amentaceae ....
Gramina

Oat . . . . •

Olive

Separias
Bicornes
Compositae ....
Umbellatae ....
Cucurbitaceae .

Orange blossom . .
Ox Eye

Parsley

fPassion flower .

POPULAR NAMES.

c
•

CLASS AND

ORDER.

NATURAL ORDER.

ORDER OF JUSSIEU.

Pea, everlasting . .
Pea, sweet ....

17
17

13

Diadelphia . . .
Diadelphia . • •

. Decandria Superflua .
. Decandria ....

Digynia

Papilionaceae . . .
Papilionaces . . .
Multisiliquae Helle- >

Leguminoss.
Leguminosae.

Peach blossom . . .
Pennyroyal, cunila . .

12
2
<>

Icosandria . . .
Diandria . . .

. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....

borus . . . . J
Pomaces
Verticillate ....

Rosaces.
Labiatx.

Phlox

5

Pentandria . . .

. Monogynia ....

Pine

21

. Monadelphia . . .

^1

Monadelphia . . .

Pink

10

5

Polyanthos ....

5
19

Pentandria . . .

. Monogynia ....
Monogynia ....

Precis

Lysimachiae.

Poppy

13

Polyandria . . .

. Monogynia ....

Papaveraceas.

Pride of China . . .

in

Decandria . . .

. Monogynia ....

Trihilate

Melia).

Primrose, evening . .

8

<>

Octandria . . .
Pentandria . . .

. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....

Calycanthems . . .

Onagrx.

Privet

9

Diandria . . .

. Monogynia ....

Quamoclit ....

5

1r>

Pentandria . . .

. Monogynia ....

Campanaceae . . .

Convolvuli

Ragged Robin . .
Ranunculus ....

10
13
1ri

Decandria . . .
Polyandria . . .
Tetradynamia > .

. Pentagynia ....
. Polygynia ....

Caryophylleze . . .
Multisiliquse ....

same.
Ranunculaceae.

Rose

1°

. Polygynia ....

Rose Campion . . .
Rosemary ....
Rue

10
2
10

Decandria . . .
Diandria . . .

. Pentagynia ....
. Monogynia ....
Monogynia ....

Caryopbylleae . . .
Verticillatae ....

Ranunculaces.

Labiate.

2

Monogynia ....

\

. Monogynia ....

Scarlet Lychnis . .
Snap Dragon . . .
Snow Ball ....

10
14
5

Decandria . . .
Didynamia . . .
Pentandria . . .

. Pentagynia ....
. Angiospermia . . .

Caryophylleae , . .
PersonatsB ....

same.
Scrophulariae.

Snow Drop ....
Sorrel, wild ....

6
10

Hexandria . . .
Decandria . . .

. Monogynia ....
. Pentagynia ....

Spathacese ....

Narcissi,
same.

Speedwell ....
Spider Wort . .

2
6

Diandria . . .

. Monogynia ....
. Monogynia ....

Personals ....

Pediculares.

Star of Bethlehem . .
St. John's Wort . .

6

IS

Hexandria . . .
Polyadelphia .

. Monogynia ....
Polyandria ....

Coronaria? ....

Asphodeli.

Strawberry Tree .

10

. Monogynia ....

Erica?.

5

Sun Flower ....

Sweet Briar ....
Sweet William .

19

12
10

Syngenesia . . .
Icosandria . . .

. Polygamia Frustranea

. Polygynia ....
Digynia

Composite Opposi- >
tifolia? . . . . J
Senticoss ....

Corymbiferse.

Rosaces.
Caryophyllese.

Syringa Carolina . .
Thistle

12

1ft

Icosandria . . .

. Monogynia . . .
. Polygamia -iEqualis

Hesperidea? ....

Myrti.
Cinarocephalas.

Thorn Apple

•-,

Pentandria . . .

. Monogynia . . .

Solaneae.

Thyme

11

r,

Monogynia . . .

Tulip

fi

Hexandria . . .

. Monogynia . . .

Coronariaj ....

Lilia.

Tulip Tree . • . .
Venus' Looking Glass
Verbena

13
5
14

Polyandria . . .
Pentandria . . .
Didynamia . . .

. Polygynia . . .
. Monogynia . . .
. Gymnospermia . .

Coadunats ....
Campanacea? . . .
Personals ....

Magnolia?.
Campanulaceae.
Vitices et Verbenacese.

Violet

5

Pentandria . . .

. Monogynia . . .

Campanaceas . .

Cisti et Violes.

Virgin's Bower . . .
Wall Flower . . .

13

IT

Polyandria . . .
Tetradynamia . .

. Polygynia . . .

Multisiliqux ....

Ranunculaces.
Crucifers.

2°

. Diandria ....

Wheat

3

Triandria . . .

. Digynia

Woodbine ....

5

19

Pentandria . . .

. Monogynia ....
. Polygamia Superflua .

Aggregate . . . .

Caprifolia.

Zinnia

19

Syngenesia . . .

. Polygamia Superflua .

Composite Oppositi- V

C orymbifera.

folia? ....*')

* Linnsus makes it Icosandria — modern botanists, Polyandria.

t Schrebe is preferred for the class and order of the Passion Flower. See Rees' Cyclopedia. Linnseus makes it
Gynandria. Pentandria. Modern botanists, Monadelphia. Pentandria, according to Cavanilles and Wildenow

DEDICATION OF FLOWERS.

THE Roman Catholic Monks, or the observers of Roman Catholic rules, have compiled a catalogue of Flowers,
for each day in the year, and dedicated each flower to a particular Saint, on account of its flowering about the time of the
Saint's festival. Such appropriations form a Floral Directory, which has been abstracted from Hone's Every Day Book,
printed in London in the year 1826.

FLORAL DIRECTORY.

JANUARY.

1. Laurustinus, Viburnum tinus, St. Faine or Fanchea,
an Irish saint, of the sixth century.

2. Groundsel, Senecio vuJgaris, St. Macarius, of Alex-
andria, A. D. 394.

3. Iris, Persian, Iris persica, St. Genevieve, patroness
of Paris, A. D. 422.

4. Hazel, Corylus avellana, St. Titus, disciple of St.
Paul.

5. Hellebore, Helleborus faetidus, St. Simeon Stylites,
of Rome.

6. Moss, screw, Tortula rigida, St. Nilammon.

January the 6th, is called twelfth day, (by the French,
I*e jour des Rois,) because it falls on the twelfth day after
Christmas. There is a difference of opinion as to the origin
of Twelfth Day, yet all concur in the same end; that is,
to do honour to the Eastern Magi. Brand tells us, " that the
practice of choosing a king on twelfth .day, is similar to a
custom that existed among the ancient Greeks and Romans,
who on the festival days of Saturn, about this season of the
year, drew lots for kingdoms, and like kings, exercised their
temporary authority." Mr. Fosbroke affirms that " the king
of Saturnalia was elected by beans, and from thence came
our king and queen, on this day." In France the Twelfth-
cake is plain, with a bean; the drawer of the slice containing
the bean, is King or Queen. All drink to her, or his Ma-
jesty, who reigns, and receives homage from all during the
evening.

" They come ! they come ! each blue-eyed sport,

The twelfth-night king, and all his court —
Tis mirth fresh crown'd with mistletoe;

Music, with her merry fiddles,

Joy, ' on light fantastic toe,'
Wit, with all his jests and riddles,

Singing and dancing as they go."

7. Laurel, Portugal, Prunus lusitanica, St. Kenti-
gerna.

8. Tremclla, yellow, Tremella deliquescens, St. Gudula.
Patroness of Brussels.

9. Laurel, common, Prunus lauro-cerasus, or common
small fruited cherry — St. Marciana, of Rome.

10. Gorse, Vlex Europxus, St. William, of Bourges,
A. D. 1207.

11. Moss, early, Bryum hornum, Swan-neck thread-
moss. St. Theodosius.

12. Moss, hygrometic, Funaria hygrometica, St. Arca-
dius.

13. Yew Tree, common Taxus baccata, St. Veronica.
A nun of Milan, A. D. 1497.

14. Strawberry, barren, Fragaria sterilis, St. Hilary,
A. D. 368.

15. Ivy, Hedera helix, St. Paul — the first Hermit.

16. Nettle, common red Dead, N. Lamium purpureum,
St. Marcellus. Pope.

17- Anemone, garden, Anemone hortensis, St. Anthony.
Patriarch of Monks, A. D. 251.

18. Moss, four-toothed, Bryum pellucidum, St. Prisca.
A Roman Martyr.

19. Nettle, white Dead, Lamium album, St. Martha.
A Roman Martyr, A. D. 270.

20. Nettle, woolly Dead, Lamium garganicum, St.
Fabian. Pope.

21. Hellebore, black, Helleborus niger, St. Agnes. A
special Patroness of purity. Beheaded at the age of 13,
A. D. 304.

22. Grass, early whitlow, Draba verna, St. Vincent. A
Spanish Martyr.

23. Peziza, Peziza acetabulum, St. Raymond, of Pen-
nafort, A. D. 1275.

24. Moss, stalkless, Phascum muticum, St. Timothy.
Disciple of St. Paul, A. D. 250.

25. Hellebore, winter, Helleborus hyemalis. The con-
version of St. Paul.

On this day, (25th Jan.) prognostications of the months
were drawn for the whole year. If fair, and clear, there was
to be plenty; if cloudy, or misty, much cattle would die; if
rain, or snow fell, then it presaged a death; and if windy,
there would be wars.

If Saint PauFs Day be fair and clear,
It does betide a happy year;
But if it chance to snow or rain,
Then will be dear all kinds of grain:
If clouds, or mists, do dark the sky,
Great store of birds and beasts shall die;
And if the winds do fly aloft,
Then wars shall vex the kingdoms oft.

Willsford's Nature's Secrets.

St. Paul's Day, is the first festival of an Apostle, in the
year. According to Dr. Foster, it is the festival of the con-
version of St. Paul.

26. Butter-bur, white, Tussilago alba, or Colt's foot.
St. Polycarp.

27. Moss, earth, Phascum cuspidatum, St. Chrysostum.

•*•

28. Daisy, double, Bellls perennis plenus, St. Marga-
ret of Hungary, A. D. 1271.

29. Fern, flowering, Osmunda regalis, St. Francis of
Sales, A. D. 1622.

30. Spleen-wort, Jlsplenium trichomanes, St. Martina.

31. Hart's tongue, or spleen-wort, Jlsplenium scolopen-
drium, St. Marcella, A. D. 410.

FEBRUARY.

1. Moss, lesser water, Fontinalis minor, St. Ignatius.

And Bay tree, Laurus nobilis, to St. Bridget, Pa-
troness of Ireland.

2. Snow-drop, Galanthus nivalis, the purification of
the blessed Virgin Mary.

3. Moss, great water, Fontinalis antipyretica, St.
Blase, of Armenia, A. D. 316.

4. Moss, common hair, or Goldilocks, Polytrichum
commune, St. Jane, or Queen Joan, A. D. 1505.

Bay, Indian, Laurus Indica, St. Margaret, of England.

5. Primrose, common, Primula vulgaris, St. Agatha. A
Sicilian Martyr, A. D. 251.

Primrose, red, Primula acaulis, St. Adelaide, A. D.
1015.

6. Hyacinth, blue, Hyacinthus orientalis, St. Dorothy,
A. D. 308.

7- Cyclamen, round-leafed, Cyclamen coum, St. Romu-
ald, 1027.

8. Moss, narrow-leafed, spring, Mnium androgynum,
St. John, of Matha, 1213.

9. Narcissus, Roman, Narcissus Romanus, St. Apol-
lonia, A. D. 249.

10. Mezereon, Daphne J\Iezereon, St. Scholastics,
A. D. 543.

Moss, silky fork, Mnium heteromallum, St. Coteris,
4th Century.

11. Primrose, red, Primula verna^rubra, St. Theodora,
Empress, 367.

12. Anemone — noble Liverwort, JLnemonc hepatica,
St. Eulalia, of Barcelona.

13. Polyanthos, Primula Polyanthos, St. Catharine
de Ricci, 1589.

14. Crocus, yellow, Crocus msesiacus, or C. aureus,
St. Valentine. St. Valentine, is the lover's saint. He was
Priest, of Rome, and married there, about the year A. D. 270.

The 14th of February, is the day on which those charm-
ing little missives, yclep'd Valentines, cross, and intercross
each other, at every street and turning. The weary, and all-
for-spent twopenny postman sinks beneath a load of delicate
embarrassments, not his own.

" Where can the postman be, I say?
He ought to fly — on such a day!
Of all days in the year, you know,
Its monstrous rude to be so slow:
The fellow's so exceeding stupid —
Hark — there he is! — oh the dear cupid."

15. Crocus, cloth of gold, Crocus sulphureus, St. Sigi-
frida, Bishop of Sweden, A. D. 1002.

16. Primrose, lilac, Primula acaulis plena, St. Juliana.

17- Crocus, Scotch, Crocus susianus, St. Flavian, Arch-
bishop of Constantinople, 449.

18. Speedwell, wall, Veronica vernus arvensis, St. Si-
meon, Bishop of Jerusalem, A. D. 116.

19. Speedwell, field, Veronica agrestis, St. Barbatus,
patron of Benevento, Bishop, A. D. 682.

20. Cynoglossum omphalodes, or C. lusitanicum, St.
Mildred, Abbess of Munster.

21. Crocus, white, Crocus albus, St. Servianus, Bishop,
A. D. 452.

22. Margaret, herb, Bellis perennis, St. Margaret, of
Cortona, 1297.

23. Apricot tree, Primus armeniaca, St. Milburge, of
England.

24. Fern, great, Osmunda regalis, St. Ethelbert, King
of Kent, England.

25. Peach blossom, Jlmigdalus persica, St. Walburg,
Abbess of Swabia, Germany.

26. Periwinkle, lesser, Vlnca minor, St. Victor,
7th Century.

27. Lungwort, Pulmonaria officinalis, St. Leander,
Bishop, 596.

28. Crocus, purple, Crocus vernus, St. Proterius, Patri-
arch of Alexandria, A. D. 557.

MARCH.

1. Leek, common, Jllliumporrum, St. David, of Wales,
Archbishop, A. D. 544.

Wearing the Leek, was customary in the time of Shaks-
peare. It is noticed in his K. H. V.

The Welshman, Fluellen, wears his leek in the battle
of Agincourt.

2. Chickweed, dwarf mouse-ear, Cerastium pumilum,
St. Chad, or Ceada, Martyr under the Lombards, in the 6th
century.

3. Marigold, golden-fig, Mesembryanthemum aureum,
St. Cunegundes, Empress, A. D. 1640.

4. Chickweed, common, Jllsine media, St. Casimir,
Prince of Poland, A. D. 1458.

5. Hellebore, green, Helleborus viridis, St. Adrian,
A. D. 309.

6. Lily, lent, Pseudo-narcissus multiplex, St. Colette,
Bishop.

7. Daffodil, early, Narcissus simplex, St. Perpetua.
She was martyred, under the Emperor Severus, A. D. 203.

8. Rose, ever bio wing, Rosa semperjlorens, St. Rosa, of
Viterbo, A. D. 1261.

Jonquil, great, Narcissus lostus, St. Felix, A. D. 646.

9. Daffodil, hoop-petticoat, Narcissus bulbocodium,
St. Catharine of Bologna, A. D. 1463.

10. Chickweed, upright, Veronica triphyllos, St. Droc-
tavoeus, Abbot, A. D. 580.

11. Heath, cornish, Erica vagans, St.Eulogius, of Cor-
dova, A. D. 851.

12. Ixia, or crocus leaved Mistletoe, Ixia bulbocodium,
or Viscum albus bulbus: St. Gregory, the Great, Prartor
of Rome, A. D. 574.

13. Heart's Ease, Viola tricolor, St. Euphrasia, A. D.
410.

14. Bindweed, mountain, Soldanella alpina, St. Maud,
or Matilda, Queen, A. D. 968.

15. Colt's-foot, common, TussUago farfara, St. Zache-
ry, Pope, A. D. 752.

16. Daffodil, nodding, Narcissus nutans, St. Julian, of
Cilicia.

17. Violet, sweet, Viola odorata, St. Gertrude, Abbess,
A. D. 626.

17. Shamrock, White Trefoil, or Dutch clover, Tr\fo-
lium repens, St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland.

18. Leopard's bane, great, Doronicum pardalianches
St. Cyrill, Archbishop of Jerusalem, A. D. 386.

19. Star of Bethlehem, yellow, Ornithogalum luteum,
St. Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary.

20. Violet, dog's, Viola comma, St. Wulfran, Arch-
bishop of Sens, A. D. 720.

21. Fumitory, bulbous, Fumaria bulbosa, St. Bennet,
or Benedict, Abbot, Founder of the order of St. Benedict,
of Rome, A. D. 543.

22. Ficaria verna, St. Catharine of Sweden, Abbess,
A. D. 1381.

23. Daffodil, peerless, Narcissus incomparabUis, St.
Alphonsus Turibius, Archbishop of Lima, A. D. 1606.

24. Saxifrage, golden, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium,
St. Irenajus, Bishop of Sirmium, A. D. 304.

25. Marigold, Calendula qfficinalis, Annunciation of
the B. V. Mary.

26. Henbane, night-shade leaved, Hyoscyamus scopalia,
St. Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa, A. D. 646.

27- Jonquil, sweet, Narcissus odorus, St. John, of
Egypt, Hermit, A. D. 394.

28. Leopard's bane, Doronicum Plantagineum, St.
Priscus, A. D. 260.

29. Ox-lip, or great cowslip, Primula elatior, St. Eua-
tatius, Abbot, A. D. 625.

Fumitory, Fumaria officinalis, St. Jonas, A. D. 327-

30. Water-cress, Cardamine hirsuta, St. John, of Cli-
macus.

Daffodil, lesser, Narcissus minor, St. Zoziraus, Bishop
of Syracuse, A. D. 660.

31. Benjamin tree, Lauras benzoin, St. Benjamin, Dea-
con, Martyr, A. D 424.

APRIL 1. ALL FOOLS' DAY.

The Romans consecrated the first day of April to Venus,
the goddess of beauty, queen of laughter, etc. It is customa-
ry on this day, to practise jocular deceptions, as various, as
the fancies of the gay youngsters, who delight in playing off
the humours of the day, upon all ages and ranks, that come
their way.

1. Mercury, French annual, Mercwialis annua, St.
Hugh, Bishop, A. D. 1132.

2. Violet, white, Viola alba, St. Francis, of Paula, A Ca-
labrian.

3. Alkanet, evergreen, Jinchusa sempervirens, St.
Agape, A. D. 304.

4. Crown Imperial, Red Fritillaria imperialis, St. Isi-
dore, Bishop of Seville, 636.

5. Crown Imperial, Fritillaria imperialis lutea, St.
Vincent Ferrer, A. D. 1419.

6. Hyacinth, starch, Hyacinthus racemosus, St. Sixtus
I. Pope, A. D. 2.

7- Anemone, wood, Anemone nemorosa, St. Aphraa-
tes, 4th Century.

8. Ivy, ground, Glechoma hederacea, St. Dionysius,
Bishop of Corinth, A. D. 2.

9. Polyanthos, red, Primula, St. Mary, of Egypt, A. D.
421.

10. Violet, pale, Viola tonbrigens, St. Mechtildes, Ab-
bess—after 1300.

11. Dandelion, Leontodon taraxacum, St. Leo, the
Great, Pope, A. D. 461.

12. Saxifrage, great thick-leaved, Saxifragum crassifo-
lium St. Zeno, Bishop, 380.

13. Narcissus, green, Narcissus mridiflorus, St. Her-
menigild, Martyr, 586.

14. Borage, common, Borago officinalis, St. Lidwina,
A. D. 1184.

15. Stitch-wort, greater, Stellaria holostea, St. Peter
Gonzales, 1246.

16. Tulip, yellow, Tulipa sylvestris, St. Joachim, of
Sienna, A. D. 1305.

17. Arum, Friar's-cowl, broad-leaved, Jirum arisarum,
St. Stephen, of Citeaux, Abbot, A. D. 1134.

18. Narcissus, musk, Narcissus Moschato, St. Apollo-
nius, A. D. 186.

19. Garlic, Jlllium ursinum, St. Leo IX. Pope, A. D.
1054.

20. Snow-flake, spring, Leucoium vernum, St. Agnes,
of Monte Pulciano, A. D. 1317.

21. Narcissus, cypress, Narcissus orientalis albus, St.
Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury.

22. Crow-foot, wood, or goldilocks, Ranunculus auri
comus, St. Rufus, of Glendaloch.

23. Harebell, Hyacinthus non scriptus, St. George, the
Martyr, Patron of England.

24. Black thorn, Prunus spinosa, St. Fidelia.

25. Tulip, clarimond, Tulipa prxcox, St. Mark, the
Evangelist.

26. Erysimum, yellow, Erysimum barbarea, St. Richa-
rius, Abbot, A. D. 645.

27. Daffodil, great, Narcissus major, St. Anastasius,
Pope, 401.

28. Arum, spotted, Jlrum maculatum, Sts. Didymus
and Theodora, A. D. 304.

29. Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum, St. Robert,
Abbot of Molesme, A. D. 1110.

30. Cowslip, Primula veris, St. Catharine, of Sienna,
A. D. 1380.

MAY 1.

" May day is chiefly spent in dancing round a tall pole,
which is consecrated to the Goddess of Flowers — without
the least violation to be offered to it, in the whole circle of
the year."

The May-pole is up,

Now give me the cup,
I'll drink to the garlands around itj

But first, unto those

Whose hands did compose .
The glory of flowers that crown'd it.

Herrick.

1. Tulip, Gesner, Tulipa Gemerina, St. Philip, sup-
posed to have been the first of Christ's Apostles.

Bachelor's Button, Lychnis dioica, St. James the just,
and the less. Apostle. Martyred in the tumult in the temple.

2. Charlock, (a Leek,) Rhaphanus raphanistrum, or
sinapis arvenus, St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria,
A. D. 373.

3. Narcissus, poetic, Narcissus poeticus, the discovery
of the cross, A. D. 326.

4. Gilly flower, stock, Cheiranthus incanus, St. Moni-
cla, mother of St. Augustine.

5. Apple-tree, Pyrus mains, Sts. Angelus, and Pius V.
Pope, A. D. 1572.

6. Globe flower, bright yellow, Trollius Europteus, St.
John Damascen, A. D. 780.

7. Globe flower Asiatic, bright orange, Trollius Jlsiati-
cus, St. John, of Beverly, England.

8. Lily of the Valley, Convalaria majalis, St. Selena.

9. Lily of the Valley, Convalaria multiflora, St. Gre-
gory, of Nazianzen, A. D. 389 or 391.

10. Peony, slender-leafed, Pxonia tenuifolia, St. Corn-
gal, Irish Abbot, A. D. 601.

11. Asphodel, Lancashire, Jlsphodelus luteus, St. Mam-
mertus, Archbishop of Vienna, A. D. 477-

12. Iris, German, Iris Germanica, St. Germanus, Patri-
arch of Constantinople, A. D. 733.

13. Comfrey, common, Symphytum officinalis, St.
John, the silent, Bishop, A. D. 558.

14. Peony, common, Pxonia ojfficinalis, and Peony, co-
ralline, P. corollina, St. Pontius, A. D. 258.

15. Poppy, Welsh, Papaver cambricum, St. Dympna,
7th Century.

16. Star of Bethlehem, great, Ornithogalum umbella-
tum, St. John Nepomucen, A. D. 1383.

17. Poppy, early red, long rough-headed P. Papaver ar-
gemone, St. Paschal, Babylon, A. D. 1592.

18. Mouse ear, or Hawk-weed, Hieracium pUosetta,
St. Eric, King of Sweden, 1151.

19. Monk's hoof, Jlconitum napellus, St. Dunstan,
Archbishop of Canterbury, A. D. 988.

20. Horse-chesnut, JEschylus hippocastanum, St. Ber-
nardine of Sienna, A. D. 1444.

21. Ragged Robin, Lychnis Jlos cuculi, St. Felix, of
Cantalicio, 1587.

22. Star of Bethlehem, yellow, Tragopogon pratensis,
St. Yvo, 1303.

23. Lilac, Syringa vulgaris, St. Julia, 5th Century.

24. Poppy, monkey, Papaver orientals, St. Vincent,
of Lerins, 450.

25. Herb Bennet, common, Gcum urbanum, St. Urban,
Pope, A. D. 223.

26. Rhododendron, purple, Rhododendron ponticum,
St. Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury, 604.

Azalea, yellow, Jlzalea pontica, St. Philip Neri, A. D.
1595.

27. Butter-cup, Ranunculus acris, St. John, Pope,
A. D. 526.

Bachelor's Button, yellow, Ranunculus acris plenus,
St. Bede, 735.

28. Iris, lurid, Iris lurida, St. Germain, Bishop of Paris,
576.

29. Blue Bottle, Centaurea montana, St. Cyril, about
275.

30. Spear-wort, lesser, Ranunculus Jlammula, St. Fer-
dinand III. Confessor, King of Castile and Leon, A. D. 1252.

31. Lily, yellow Turk's cap, Lilium pomponium, St.
Petronilla, century 1st.

JUNE.

1. Rose, yellow, Rosa lutea, St. Justin, Martyr, A. D.
167.

2. Pimpernel, common scarlet, Jlnagallis arvensis, St..
Erasmus, 303.

3. Rose de meaux, Rosa provincialis, St. Cecilius,
A. D. 211.

4. Pink, Indian, Dianthus chinensis, St. Quirinus,
Bishop, A. D. 304.

5. Rose, three-leafed China, Rosa sinica, St. Boniface,
First Missionary from England to Friesland. Afterwards
Archbishop of Mentz, and Primate of Germany and Belgium,
century 8th.

6. Pink, common, Dianthus deltoides, St. Norbert,
A. D. 1134.

7. Centaury, red, Chironia centaureum, St. Paul, Bish-
op of Constantinople, A. D. 350.

8. Money-wort, Herb Two pence, or creeping Loose-
strife, Lysimachia numularia, St. Medard, Bishop, 6th
Century.

9. Barberry, Pipperidge bush of England, Berberis vul-
garis, St. Columba, A. D. 597.

10. Iris, bright yellow, Iris pseudo-acorus, St. Marga-
ret, Queen of Scotland, A. D. 1093.

11. Daisy, midsummer, Chrysanthemum leucanthe-
mum, St. Barnabas, Apostle, century 1st.

12. Rose, white dog, -Rosa arvensis, St. John, Hermit,
A. D. 1479.

13. Ranunculus, garden, Ranunculus Asiaticus, St.
Anthony of Padua, 1231.

14. Basil, sweet, Ocimum basilicum, St. Basil, Arch-
bishop, 379.

15. Sensitive plant, Mimosa sensitiva, St. Vitus, Mar-
tyr, 4th Century.

16. Rose, Moss province, Rosa muscosa, St. Julitta,
Martyr, 304.

17- Monkey flower, yellow, Mimulus luteus, St. Ni-
cander, about A. D. 303.

18. Poppy, horned, Chelidonium glaucium, St. Marina,
Sth Century.

19. La Julienne de nuit, Hesperis tristis, St. Juliana
Falconieri, 1340.

20. Poppy, doubtful, Papaver dubium, St. Silverius,
Pope, A. D. 538.

21. Bugloss, Viper's, Echium vulgare, St. Aloysius,
A. D. 1591.

22. Canterbury Bell, Campanula medium, St. Paulinus,
Bishop of Nola, A. D. 431.

23. Ladies' slipper, Cypripedium calceolus, St. Ethel-
dreda, 679.

24. St. John's wort, Hypericum pulchrum, the nativity
of St. John the Baptist.

25. Sweet William, Dianthus barbatus, St. William,
of Monte Vergine, A. D. 1142.

26. Sow-thistle, Alpine hairy blue, Sonchus cxruleus,
St. Reingarda, Widow, 1135.

27. St. John's wort, perforated, Hypericum perforatum,
St. John, of Montier, 6th Century.

28. Corn-flower, blue, Centaurea cyanus, St. Irensus,
Bishop of Lyons, A. D. 202.

29. Rattle, yellow, lUdnanthus crista-galli, St. Peter,
the Apostle.

30. Cistus, yellow, Cistus helianthemum, St. Paul, the
Apostle, Martyr.

JULY.

1. Agrimony, Jigrimonia Eupatoria, St. Aaron.

2. Lily, white, LUium candidum, the Virgin Mary.

3. Mallow, common, Malva sylvestris, St. Phocas, a
Gardener, A. D. 303.

4. Lily, tawny Day, of China, Hemerocallis fulva, St.
Ulric, Bishop of Augsburg.

5. Rose, double yellow, Rosa sulphurea, St. Edana, of
Elphim and Tuam.

6. Hawk-weed, or purple-eyed succory, Crepis barbata,
St. Julian, Anchorite, 4th Century.

7. Nasturtium, Tropxolum majus, St. Felix, Bishop
of Nantes, 584.

8. Primrose, evening, JEnothera biennis, St. Elizabeth,
Queen of Portugal, A. D. 1336.

9. Sow-thistle, Tall marsh, Sonchus palust ris, St. Ever-
ildis.

10. Snapdragon, speckled, Antirrhinum triphyllum,
Sts. Rufuia and Secunda, 257-

11. Lupine, yellow, Lupinus Jlsevus, St. James, Bishop
of Nisibis, 350.

12. Snapdragon, great, Antirrhinum purpureum, St.
John Gualbert, Abbot, 1073.

13. Lupine, blue, Lupinus hirsutus, St. Eugenius,
Bishop, A. D. 505.

14. Lupine, red, Lupinus perennis, St. Bonaventure,
Cardinal, Bishop, A. D. 1274.

15. Marigold, small cape, purple and white, Calendula
pluvialis, St. Swithin, Bishop, A. D. 862.

" If it rains on St. Swithin's Day, there will be rain the
next forty days afterwards."

In this month is St. Swithin's day,
On which, if it rain, they say
Full forty days after it will
Or more, or less, some rain distill.

Poor Robin's •Almanac for the year 1697.

St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain:

St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair,
For forty days 'twill rain na mair.

Hone's E. D. B.

16. Convolvulus, Convolvulus purpureus, St. Eusta-
thius, Patriarch of Antioch, A. D. 338.

17. Pea, sweet, Lathyrus odoratus, St. Marcellina,
A. D. 397.

18. Marigold, autumn, Chrysanthemum coronarium,
St. Bruno, Bishop of Segni, A. D. 1125.

19. Hawk-weed, golden, Hieracium auranticum, St.
Vincent, of Paul, 1660.

The corolla of this flower, a rich orange hue, contrasted
with the black hairy calyx, which gave rise to the popular
name of Grim the cottier.

20. Dragon's head, Virginian, Dracocephalus Virginia-
num, St. Margaret, of Antioch.

21. Lily, Philadelphian, LUium Philadelphicum, St.
Praxedes.

22. Lily, African, Jlgapanthus umbellatus, St. Mary
Magdalen.

23. Musk flower, Scabious atro purpurea, St. Apolli-
naris, Bishop of Ravena.

24. Lupine tree, Lupinus arboreus, St. Lupus, Bishop,
A. D. 478.

25. Herb Christopher, pure white, Acts&a spicata, St.
Christopher.

26. Chamomile, field, or corn Fever-few, Matricaria
chamomilla, St. Ann, Mother of the Virgin Mary.

27. Loose strife, purple Lythrum, Lythrum salicaria,
St. Pantaleon, A. D. 303.

28. Groundsel, mountain, Senecio montanus, St. Inno-
cent I. Pope, 417-

29. Chironia, red, Chironia centaurium, St. Martha, V.

30. Mullein, white, Verbascum lychnitis, St. Julitta,
A. D. 303.

31. Mullein, yellow, primrose-leafed, Verbascum virga-
tum, St. Ignatius, of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, A. D.
1556.

AUGUST.

The Romish church, professing to possess one of St.
Peter's chains, wherewith he was bound, and from which the
Angel delivered him, indulges its votaries with a festival in its
honour, on the first day of this month, or the Feast of St.
Peter's chains.

1. Stramony, or Thorn Apple, Datura stramonium, St.
Peter ad Vincula.

2. Lily, tiger, IMium tigrum, St. Alfrida, A. D. 834.

3. Hollyhock, Jllthea rosea, the discovery of St. Ste-
phen's relics, 415.

4. Blue Bells, Campanula rotundifolia, St. Dominic,
Confessor, Founder of the Friar Preachers, A. D. 1221.

5. Lily, Egyptian, water, Nelumbo nilotica, St. Mary
ad Nives.

6. Saffron, meadow, Colchicum autumnalis, the trans-
figuration of our Lord, on Mount Tabor.

7. Amaranth, common, Jlmaranthus hypochondriacus,
St. Cajetan, 1547-

8. Love lies-a-bleeding, Amaranthus procumbens, St.
Hormisdas.

9. Rag-wort, yellow Jacobean, Senecio jacobea, St. Ro-
manus.

10. Balsam, Impatiens balsamea, St. Lawrence, Roman
Martyr, 258.

11. China Aster, Aster Chinensis, St. Susanna, 3rd Cent.

12. Sow-Thistle, great corn, Sonchus avensis, St.
Clare, Abbess, A. D. 1253.

13. Groundsel, marsh, Great Fen Rag-wort, or Bird's
Tongue, Senecio paludosus, St. Radigundes.

14. Zinnia, elegant, Zinnia elegans, St. Eusebius,
Priest, 3rd Century.

15. Virgin's Bower, white, Clematis vitalba, the As-
sumption of the B. V. Mary, or the miraculous ascent of her
body into heaven.

16. Lily, belladonna, Amaryllis belladonna, St. Hya-
cinth, A. D. 1257-

17. Snapdragon, Toad-flax, Antirrhinum linaria, St.
Manns, A. D. 275.

18. Marigold, African, Tagetes erecta, St. Helen, Em-
press, A. D. 382.

19. Timothy, branched-cat's tail grass, Phleum panni-
culatum, or Ph. asperum, St. Timothy, A. D. 304.

20. Dandelion, Leontodon serotinus, St. Bernard, Ab-
bot, A. D. 1153.

21. Marigold, French, Tagetus patula, St. Jane Fran-
cis, de Chantal, A. D. 1641.

22. Timothy, common cat's tail grass, Phleum pra-
tense, St. Timothy, A. D. 311.

23. Tansy, common, Tanacetum vulgare, St. Philip
Beniti, A. D. 1285.

24. Sun-flower, tall, Helianthus annuus, St. Bartholo-
mew, Apostle.

25. Sun-flower, perennial, Helianthus multiflorus, St.
Louis, King of France, A. D. 1270.

26. Amaryllis, banded, Amaryllis vittata, St. Zephyri-
nus, Pope, A. D. 219.

27. Hawk's-weed hedge, Hieracium umbellatum, St.
Caesarius, Archbishop of Aries, A. D. 542.

28. Golden-rod, Solidago, virga aurea, St. Augustine,
Bishop, and Doctor of the Church, A. D. 430.

29. Hollyhock, yellow, Jllthea flava, St. Sabina, King,
about 697.

30. Lily, Guernsey, Amaryllis sarniensis, St. Rose, of
Lima, V. 1617.

31. Pheasant's eye, Adonis autumnalis, St. Raymund
Nonnatus, 1240.

SEPTEMBER.

1. Orpine, or Live-long, great, Sedum telephium, St.
Giles, Patron of Beggars and Cripples. Born at Athens.
Made Abbot of the Abbey at Nismes, in France. Died
A. D. 750.

2. Golden-rod, Solidago, St. Margaret, B., 13th Cent.

3. Flea-bane, common yellow, Inula dysenterica, St
Simeon Stylitcs, the younger, A. D. 592.

4. Soap-wort, pale pink, Saponaria officinalis, St. Ro-
salia, A. D. 1160.

5. Mushroom, or champignon, Agaricus campestris, St
Laurence Justinian, First Patriarch of Venice, A. D. 1455.

6. Dandelion, Leontodon autumnalis, St. Pambo, of
Nitria, A. D. 385.

7. Star-wort, golden, Aster solidaginoides, St. Cloud,
A. D. 560.

8. Star-wort, Italian, blue, Aster amellus, St. Adrian,
A. D. 306.

On this day (September 8th) The Nativity of the B. V
Mary is celebrated.

9. Golden-rod, Canadian, Solidago Canadensis, St
Omer, A. D. 607.

10. Crocus, autumnal, Crocus autumnalis, St. Pulche-
ria, Empress, A. D. 453.

11. Meadow saffron, variegated, Colchicum variegatum,
St. Hyacinthus, A. D. 257.

12. Passion-flower, Passiflora peltata, St. Eanswide,
Abbess, 7th Century.

13. Crocus, Crocus sativus, St. Eulogius, Patriarch of
Alexandria, 608.

14. Passion-flower, Passiflora cserulea, the exaltation
of the Holy Cross, 629.

15. Saffron, Byzantine, Colchicum Byzanticum, St.
Nicetas, 4th Century.

16. Star-wort, sea, blue, Aster tripolium, St. Editha,
A. D. 984.

17- Mallow, narrow-leaved, Malva angustiflora, St.
Lambert, Bishop, A. D. 709.

18. Star-wort, pendulous, Aster pendulus, St. Thomas,
Archbishop of Valentia, 1555.

19. Scabious, Devil's bit, Scabiosa succisa, St. Lucy,
A. D. 1090.

20. Meadow saffron, common, Colchicum autumnali,
St. Eustachius.

21. Passion-flower, fringed-leaved, variegated, Passi-
flora ciliata, St. Mathew, Apostle and Evangelist.

22. Boletus, tree, Boletus arboreus, St. Maurice, 4th
Century.

23. Star-wort, white, bushy, Aster dumosus, St. Thecla,
1st Century.

24. Fungus, Agaricus Jlmetarius, St. Gerard, Bishop of
Chonad, 1046.

25. Boletus, great, order Fungi, Boletus bovinus, St.
Ceolfrid, Abbot, 716.

26. Golden-rod, great, Solidago gigantea, St. Justina,
A. D. 304.

27. Star-wort, white and small-leaved, N. American,
Aster multiflorus, St. Delphina, A. D. 1323.

28. Golden-rod, evergreen, Solidago sempervirens, St.
Eustochium, Vicar, A. D. 419.

29. Michaelmas Daisy, Aster tradescanti, St. Michael,
and all Angels. The dedication of St. Michael's church.

30. Amaryllis, golden, Amaryllis aurea, St. Jerome,
Priest, Doctor of the church, A. D. 420.

OCTOBER.

1. Amaryllis, lowly, Amaryllis humilis, St. Remigius,
Bishop of Rheims, A. D. 533.

With bays, and rosemary,

And laurel complete;
And every one now

Is a king in conceit.

From " Poor Robin's Almanac, for 1695."

26. Heath, purple, Erica purpurea, St. Stephen, the
first Martyr.

27. Heath, flame, Erica flammea, St. John, the Apostle
and Evangelist.

28. Heath, bloody-flowered, Erica cruenta, the Holy
Innocents who suffered from Herod's cruelty.

29. Heath, Erica genistopha, St. Thomas, Archbishop
of Canterbury, 1170.

30. Ponthieva, glandular, Ponthieva glandvlosa, St.
Anysia, A. D. 304.

There is no flower appropriated to the 31st December.

" If New Year's eve night-winds blow South,

It betokens warmth and growth;

If West, much milk, and fish in the sea;

If North, much cold, and storms there will be;

If East, the trees will bear much fruit;

If North-east, flee it man and brute."

And the next to this is New-Year's day,

Whereon to every frende,
They costly presents in do bring,

And New-Year's gifts do sende.
These gifts the husband gives his wife,

And father eke the childe,
And master on his men bestowes

The like, with favour milde.

From the Latin of Thos. Naogeorgus,

toritten in 1553. Translated by Barnarbe Googe.

DEFINITION OF THE SPECIFIC NAMES OF THE FLOWERS USED IN FLORA'S DICTIONARY.

dtries, L. Ainsworth defines it— 1. A Fir tree— 2. A ship—
3. A plant. The Pinus abies being much used in the
construction of ships, etc.

»/2crts, L. Sharp, sour.

Jllba, Jllbus, L. White, hoary, pale, wan.

Jlnnuus, L. Annual, yearly; living but one year

Jlrgentifolium, L. Silver-leaved.

•Atro-purpurea, of a dark purple colour.

Jlutumnale, L. Of Autumn.

Jlurantium, L. Orange coloured.

Jlzedarach, from Jlzed, an Arabian word, signifying large.

Babylonica, of Babylon.

Balsamea, L. Balmy.

Barbatus, L. Bearded.

Bella donna. Because the ladies make a cosmetic of the
juice, or distilled water. Some derive the name from
the intoxicating quality of the plant — Jltropa bella
donna.

Bicolor, L. Of two colours, parti-coloured.

Campanula, see note on Venus' Looking glass.

Canadensis, L. Of Canada.

Candldum, L. See note on white Lily.

Capitatum, L. From caput, a head.

Cxrulea, L. Azure, blue.

Csesius, L. Grey coloured.

Caryophyllus, L. For a clove — see note on Pink.

Caudatus, L. Tailed, that hath a tail.

Centifolia, L. Hundred-leaved.

Chalcedonica, see note on scarlet Lychnis.

Cheiranthus, see note on Wall Flower.

Chinensis, L. Of China.

Coronarius, L. That belongs to, or serves to make garlands.

Cotinus, see note on Sumach.

Cristata, L. Crested, tufted.

Crystallinum, L. A crystal glass; like it in clearness.

Cuculi, L. From cuculio, a kind of hood, to keep off rain.

Damascena, probably from the name of the country of Da-
mascene, around Damascus.

Dioica, see note on Bachelor's Button.

Dulcis, L. Sweet.

Florida, Floridus, L. Flowery, adorned with flowers.

Formosissima, L. Beautiful, handsome.

Glauca, glaucus, L. Grey or blue, sea-green, pale bluish-
green.

Globosa, L. Globular.

Graveolens, L. Of a bad odour; that hath a strong smell.

Hispida, L. Hairy, bristly.

Hortensis, L. Pertaining to, or growing in gardens.

Incanus, see note on Gilly Flower.

Indica, Jndicum, L. Of India.

Inermis, L. Thornless; unarmed, without arms.

Inodorus, L. Without scent.

Inquinans, L. Defiling, blemishing

Laburnum, see note.

Latifolia, L. Broad-leaved.

Lnitea, L. Pale yellow, like the yolk of an egg.

JWaculatum, L. Spotted.

Jllajor, L. Greater, bigger.

JUatronalis, L. Modest, pertaining to Matrons.

Medium, L. Middle sized, moderate sized.

Millefolium, L. A thousand-leaved.

Minor, L. Less, smaller.

Multijlora, L. Many-leaved.

Muschato, L. Musky.

Muscosa, L. Mossy, or full of moss.

Nivalis, L. Snowy.

JVtger, nigrum, L. Black.

NobUis, L. Known, or well known.

Odorata, Odoratissimum, L. Sweet scented.

Offlcinale, officinalis, L. Kept for sale as medicinal.

Opulus, L. Ainsworth defines it " A tree which the French

call opier — some a Witch-hazel."
Paroifolia, small-leaved.

Peltatum, L. Having the shape of a target, or shield.
Persica, persicus, of, or belonging to Persia. A Peach tree.
Pomifragrans, L. Apple-scented.

Pratense, L. From pratensis, of, or belonging to a meadow.
Pseudo, L. Counterfeit, false.
Pumila, L. A Dwarf.

Punica, L. Scarlet colour, the Tyrian or Carthaginian dye.
Quercifolium, L. Oak-leaved.
Quotidiana, L. Daily, every day.
Rigida, L. Rigid, hard.
Rosea, L. Like a rose.
Rosxfolius, L. Rose-leaved.
Rubeus, L. Red, ruddy.
Rubiginosa, see note on Eglantine.
Rubor-virginea, L. Rubor, red ; Virginia, Virgin like.
Rubrifolia, L. Of a red colour.
Sempcrvirens, L. Always flourishing, always green.
Somniferurn, L. Causing sleep.
Speculum, see note on Venus' Looking glass.
Stramonium, L. Probably from stramcn, a spreading
Suaveolens, L. Sweet scented.
Syriacus, L. Syrian.
Taraxacum, see note on Dandelion.
Tinctoria, L. Of or belonging to Dyers.
Tradescanti, see note on American Star-wort.
Tricolor, Fr. Three coloured.
Trionum, see note on Hibiscus.
Tuberosa, see note on Tuberose.

Tulipifcra, L. Tulip bearing, bearing flowers of a tulip form.
Unica, L. Unique, singular, notable, excellent.
Variegatva, L. Variegated.

Vernalis, L. From Vernus, of, or belonging to the spring.
Veris, L. Real, true.
Versicolor, L. Of sundry colours.
Virginica, L. Of Virginia.
Vinifera, L. Vine bearing.
Vulgaris, L. Ordinary, common, much used.

Absence,

Activity,

Affection beyond the grave,

A heart that is ignorant of)
love, <[

Ambassador of Love, . . .

Ambition,

Ambition, Female, . . .

Amability, ......

Am I forgotten? . . . .

An appointed meeting, . .

An expected meeting, . ,

Anger, a frown, . . . . ,

Anxious and trembling, . .

Aspiring, .......

Avarice,

Aversion,

Bashful shame, . . . . .

Beauty,

Beauty unknown to the pos-
sessor,

Benevolence, . , . . .

Beware!

To bind,

Bonds of affection, . . .

A Boaster,

Bravery, . . . . .

Busy Body,

Call me not Beautiful, . .

Calumny, Scandal, . . .

Capricious Beauty, . . .

Charity,

Charming,

Cheerfulness,

Cheerfulness in old Age, . .

ChivaJry,

Compassion, ......

Concealed Love, ....

Confession, .-..,,,

Confidence, ......

Consolation, ......

Constancy, ......

Consumed by Love, . . .

Content,

Coquetry,

Counterfeit,

Cruelty,

To Cure,

Cure for the Heart-ache,
Deceitful charms, ....
Declaration of Love, . . .
Delay, ........

Delicacy,

Delicate Beauty, ....
Departure, ......

Despair,

Devotion,

Disappointment, ....
Disappointed Expectation, .

Discretion,

Disdain,

Dissension,

Zinnia.
Thyme.
Locust.

Rose bud, white.

Rose, cabbage.
Hollyhock.
Hollyhock, white.
Jasmine, white.
Holly.

Everlasting pea.
Geranium, nutmeg.
PoEony.

Columbine, red.
Pink, mountain.
Auricula.
Pink,J[ndian.
Rose, deep red.
Rose, red, full blown.

i Daisy.

Calycanthus.

Oleander.

Snow Ball.

Gilly Flower.

Hydranger.

Oak Leaf.

Quamoclit.

Rose, unique.

Hellebore.

Lady's Slipper

Grape, wild.

Rose, Musk.

Crocus.

American Starwort,

Daffodil.

Elder.

Acacia, yellow.

Rosebud, Moss.

Polyanthos.

Poppy, red.

Box.

Althaea.

Houstonia.

Dandelion.

Mock Orange.

Marigold.

Yarrow.

Pleurisy root.

Thorn Apple.

Tulip, red.

Fever Root.

Lily of the Valley,

Hibiscus.

Pea Sweet

Cypress.

Heliotrope.

Syringa Carolina.

Geranium, fish.

Lemon blossom.

Rue.

Pride of China.

Distinction, Cardinal's flower

Distrust, Lavender.

Domestic virtues, .... Sage.

Egotism, self-love, . . . Narcissus.

Elegance, Acacia, white.

Eloquence, ...... Lagerstramia.

Encouragement, .... Virga aurca; or, Golden Rod.

Envy, Geranium, Crane's bill.

Esteem and Love, . . . Strawberry Tree,

I esteem, but do not love you, Spider wort.

Estranged love, .... Lotos flower.

Expectation,. . ... Anemone.

Falsehood, Lily, yellow.

Farewell! Pine, spruce.

Female Fidelity, .... Speedwell.

Feminine Modesty, . . . Calla. aHhiopica.

Fickleness, Larkspur, pink col.

Fidelity in misfortune, . . Wall Flower.

Filial love, Virgin's Bower.

Finesse, Sweet William.

Flattery, Venus' Looking Glass.

Flee away, Pennyroyal.

Foppery, Affectation, . . . Cock's Comb.

For ever thine, Dahlia.

Forget me not, J Heart£ Ease, yellow and pui-

Forsaken, Weeping Willow.

Fraternal love, Woodbine.

Freshness, Rose, damask.

Friendship, Acacia, rose.

Generous and devoted Love, Honeysuckle, wild.

Good wishes, Basil, Sweet.

Grace, Rose, Multiflora.

Grace and Elegance, . . . Jasmine, Yellow.

Gratitude, Canterbury Bell.

Happy Love, Rose, Bridal.

Hope, Almond flower.

Hope, Hawthorn.

Hopeless Love, .... Tulip, yellow.

Hopeless, not Heartless, . Love lies-a-bleeding.

Humility, Broom.

I am dazzled by your charms, Ranunculus.
I am perfectly indifferent to ) -p.

you, ...... $ Dogwood.

I am worthy of you,
I am your Captive,
I change but in dying,

Rose, white.
Peach blossom.
Bay leaf.
Belvidere.
Jonquil.

• Catch Fly, white.

I declare against you, . . .
I desire a return of affection,
I fall into the Trap laid for '

me, I

If you do love me, you will ) „ .... . , , „, ,

find me out, /. . . j Rose, Main's Blush.

I have a message for you, . Iris.

I have lost all! Honey flower, Mourning Bride

I live for thee, ..... Cedar.

I love, Chrysanthemum, rose colour.

Imagination, ...... Lupine.

Immortality, Amaranth.

Impatience, Balsam, yellow.

Impatient resolves, . . . Balsam, red.

Inconstancy, Primrose, Evening.

Industry,

Clover, red.

Sensitiveness, Mimosa.

Ingenuousness,

Pink, white.

Serenade, Dew Plant.

Ingratitude,

Rose, without a Thorn.

Simplicity, Sweet Briar.

Innocence,

Daisy, white.

Sincerity, Honesty, or Satin Flower.

I partake your sentiments, .

China Aster, double.

Slander, Nettle.

I will think of it, . . . .

China Aster, single.

Slighted love, . . ' . . • Chrysanthemum, yellow.

I with the morning's love }

Solitude, Lichen.

have oft made sport, . jf

Sorrowful Remembrances, . Adonis.

I would not answer hastily,

Honeysuckle, Monthly.

Speak low, if you speak love, Honey Flower.

I wound to heal, ....

Eglantine.

Splendid Beauty, .... Amaryllis.

Jealousy,

Hyacinth.

Splendour, Sumach, Venice.

Lady, deign to smile, . . .

Geranium, Oak.

Submission, Grass.

Le plus loin, Le plus cher, .

Tuberose.

Sunbeam'd Eyes, .... Scarlet Lychnis.

Lightness,

Larkspur.

Superior Merit, Rose, Moss.

Live for me,

Arbor Vitae.

Superstition, St. John's wort.

Lively and pure affection, .

Pink, red.

Susceptibility, Passion Flower.

Violet, blue.

Sympathy, Balm.

Love at first sight, ....

Coreopsis, Arkansa.

That smile I would aspire ) Roge Daily

Love in idleness, ....

Heart's Ease, wild.

Myrtle.

The ambition in my '°vei Fuchsia

Love returned,

Ambrosia.

thus plagues itself, . . )

Majesty, Power, ....

Crown Imperial.

The colour of my fate, . . Honeysuckle, coral.

Matrimony,
Mature and finished elegance,

Ivy.
Pomegranate Flower.

The decrease of love on bet- > R ]low
ter acquaintance, . . >

Mildness,

Privet.

The first emotions of love, . Lilac, purple.

Misanthropy,

Thistle.

The Heart's Mystery, . . Polyanthos, crimson heart.

Modesty,

Violet, white.

The reward of Merit, . . . Bay Wreath.

Music,

Oat.

Thou art all that is lovely, . Rose, Austrian.

My Bane, My Antidote, . .

Poppy, white.

Time, Fir, Balm of Gilead.

My best days are past, . .

Meadow Saffron.

Time and Philosophy, . . Pine, Pitch.

Never ceasing Remembrance,

Everlasting.

Timidity, Marvel of Peru.

Only deserve my love, . .

Rose Campion.

A Token, Laurustinus.

Patience,

Ox Eye.

Transient Impressions, . . Rose, white and withered.

Peace,

Olive.

Transport, Ecstacy, . . . Cape Jasmine.

Pensive Beauty, ....

Laburnum.

Treacherv Laurel.

Perplexity,

Love in-a-mist.

Truth, Chrysanthemum, white.

Perseverance,

Magnolia.

Unanimity, Phlox.

Pity,

Camellia Japonica.

Uncertainty, Convolvulus.

Pity,

Pine, black.

Unchangeable, Amaranth, Globe.

Pleasures of Memory, . .

Periwinkle, blue.

Unconscious Beauty, . . . Rose, Burgundy.

Pleasing Reminiscences,

Periwinkle, white.

Unfortunate attachment, . Scabious. The Mourning Bride

Preference,

Geranium, rose.

Unpatronized Merit, . . . Primrose.

Present preference, . . .

Geranium, apple.

Useful knowledge, . . . Parsley.

Presumption,

Snap Dragon.

Variety, Rose, Mundi.

Pride,

Rose, hundred leaved.

War, Rose, York, and Lancaster.

Pride, Haughtiness, . . .

Sun-flower, tall.

Warlike Trophy, .... Nasturtium.

Prosperity,

Wheat.

Winning Grace, .... Cowslip.

Purity and sweetness, . . .

Lily, white.

A Wish, Fox Glove.

Recall,

Geranium, silver-leaved.

Wit, Ragged Robin.

Recantation,

Lotos leaf.

Wit, ill timed, Sorrel.

Recluse,

Moss.

Woman's Love, .... Pink. The Carnation.

Reconciliation,
Refinement,

Star of Bethlehem.
Snow drop.

You are the Queen of Co- > Que6n,g rQcket
quettes, >

Refusal,

Pink, variegated.

You are young and beautiful, Rose-bud, red.

Rejected addresses, . . .

Ice Plant

You occupy my thoughts, . Heart's Ease, purple.

Religious Superstition, . .

Aloe.

Your devout adorer, . . . Sun-flower, Dwarf.

Rosemary.

Your hand for the next quad- ) Geranium Ivy>

Resolved to win, ....

Columbine, purple.

rille? >

Riches,

Bird's-foot Trefoil.
Butter-cup.

Your purity equals your love- 1 Q blogsom>
liness, )

Rural Happiness, . . .

Rocket.
Tulip tree.

Your qualities surpass your>Mi tte.
loveliness, i

Night shade.

Youth, Lilac, white.

Sensibility,

Verbena.

Youthful love, Catch fly, red.

2. Soap-wort, Saponaria officindlis, Feast of the holy
guardian Angels.

3. Helenium, downy, Helenium pubescens, St. Diony-
sius, the Areopagite, A. D. 51.

4. Southern-wood, dwarf, Artemisia abrotanwn, St.'
Francis, of Assisium, A. D. 1226.

5. Chamomile, star-like, a Fungus, Boltonia asteroides,
St. Placidus, A. D. 546.

6. Feverfew, creeping-rooted, Pyrethrum serotinum,
St. Bruno, Founder of the Carthusian Monks, A. D. 1101.

I. Chrysanthemum, Indian, Chrysanthemum Indicum,
St. Mark, Pope, A. D. 336.

8. Maudlin, sweet, Jlchillea ageratum, St. Bridget,
A. D. 1373.

9. Mushroom, milky, Jlgaricus lactifluus acris, or, Ji.
Listcri, St. Denys, Patron saint of France.

10. Aletris, cape waved-leaved, Jlletris viridifolia, St.
Francis Borgia, A. D. 1572.

II. Holly, common, Ilex aquifolium, St. Ethelburge,
A. D. 664.

12. Flea-bane, wavy, Inula undulata, St. Wilfred,
Bishop of York, A. D. 709.

13. Helenium, yellow, smooth, Helenium autumnale,
St. Edward, King, and Confessor, A. D. 1066.

14. Flea-bane, Indian, Inula Indica, St. Calixtus, Pope,
A. D. 222.

15. Sultan, sweet, purple, Centaurea moschata, St.
Teresa, Virgin, 1582.

16. Yarrow, Jlchillea millefolium, St. Gall, Abbot,
A. D. 646.

17. Sun-flower, Dwarf, Helianthus indicus, St. Anstru-
dis, A. D. 688.

18. Mushroom, Jlgaricus jloccosus, St. Luke, the Evan-
gelist, A. D. 63.

19. Tick-seed, perennial, Coreopsis procera, St. Fri-
des wide, Patroness of Oxford, 8th Century.

20. Sultan, yellow, sweet, Centaurea suaveolens, St.
Artemius, 362.

21. Silphium, hairy-stalked, Silphium asteriscus, St.
Ursula, 5th Century.

22. Silphium, rough, three-leaved, Silphium trifoliatum,
St. Nunilo, 840.

23. Star-wort, slender-stalked, Jlster junceus, St. Theo-
doret, A. U. 362.

24. Star-wort, Carolina, Jlster carolinus Jlexuosus, St.
Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople, A. D. 447.

25. Star-wort, flea-bane, Jlster Conizoidcs, St. Crispin,
A. D. 237.

Star-wort, meagre, Jlster miser, St. Crispinian, 287-

These were both Brothers, and Martyrs, Shoemakers,
and Patrons of that art.

26. Golden-rod, late-flowered, Solidago petiolaris, St.
Evaristus, Pope, A. D. 112.

27- Star-wort, floribund, Jlster Jloribundus, St. Fru-
mentius, Apostle of Ethiopia, Century 4th.

28. Chrysanthemum, late flowering, creeping, Chrys.
serotinum, St. Simon, Apostle, the Zealot.

Star-wort, scattered, Jlster passi/lorus, St. Jude, the
Apostle.

29. Narcissus, green, autumnal, Narcissus viridijlorus,
St. Narcissus, Bishop of Jerusalem, 2nd Century.

30. Mushroom, mixen, Jlgaricus Jlmetarius, St. Mar-
cellus, the centurion, A. D. 298.

31. Tick-seed, fennel-leaved, Coreopsis ferulstrfblia, St.
Quintin, 287.

" The 31st October is all Hallow E'en, or the vigil of
All Saints' day, in which young people try their fortune, by
drawing cabbages from the ground, blindfolded. Or, burn-
ing nuts in the fire, etc.

The cabbage, or kale, being large or small, straight or
crooked, is deemed prophetic of the size and form of the grand
object of their spells. If any earth adhere to the root, that is
tocher, or fortune; the taste of the heart of the stem, is indi-
cative of the natural temper and disposition. Lastly, the
stems are placed over the door, and the Christian name of the
person who first enters through the door, will be the name
sought for. If more than one be so affixed, it will be decided
according to the priority of placing the runts or stalks.

The nuts are named, and accordingly as they burn qui-
etly together, or start from beside each other, the course, and
issue of their love will be."

These glowing nuts are emblems true
Of what in human life we view;
The ill-matched couple fret and fume,
And thus, in strife themselves consume;
Or, from each other wildly start,
And with a noise for ever part.
But see, the happy, happy pair,
Of genuine love and truth sincere;
With mutual fondness, while they burn,
Still to each other kindly turn:
And as the vital sparks decay,
Together gently sink away:
Till life's fierce ordeal being past,
Their mingled ashes rest at last.

Charles Graydon, Esqr.
From his collection of poems. Dublin, 1801.

NOVEMBER.

1. Laurustinus, Laurustinus sempervircns, St. Fortu-
natus.

2. Cherry, winter, Physalis, St. Marcian, A. D. 387.

3. Primrose, Primula vulgaris, St. Flour, A. D. 389.

4. Strawberry tree, Jlrbutus, St. Brinstan, Bishop of
Winchester, A. D. 931.

5. Cherry, common winter, orange coloured fruit, Phy-
salis alkakengi, St. Bertille, Abbess of Chelles, A. D. 692.

6. Yew tree, common, of Europe, Taxus baccata, St.
Leonard, 6th Century.

7. Fu re rasa, large, Furcrxa gigantea, St. Willebord,
First Bishop of Utrecht. 738.

8. Aletris, cape, Veltheimia glauca, the four crowned
Brothers, Martyrs, A. D. 304.

9. Aletris, glaucous-leafed, Veltheimia glauca, St. John
Lateran.

10. Fir, Scotch, Pinus sylvestris, St. Nympha, 5th
Century.

11. Pine, Wey mouth, Pinus strobus, St. Martin, Bish-
op, A. D. 397.

12. Aloe, great orange flowering, Veltheimia, or JUe-
tris uvaria, St. Niltis, A. D. 390.

13. Bay, Laurits poetica, St. Homobonus, A. D. 1197.

•*•-

14. Laurel, Portugal, Cerasus lusitanica, St. Law-
rence, Archbishop of Dublin, 1180.

15. Colt's-foot, sweet-scented, Tussilago fragrans, St.
Gertrude, Abbess, 1292.

16. Hemp, African bow-string, Sanseviera guineensis,
St. Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, A. D. 1242.

17- Stramony, or Thorn Apple tree, Datura arborea,
St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop, A. D. 270.

18. Passion-Flower, notched-leafed, with curling rays to
flower, Passiflora serratifolia, dedication of the churches
of St. Peter and St. Paul, at Rome.

19. Passion-Flower, apple fruited, Passiflora malifor-
mis, St. Elizabeth, of Hungary, A. D. 1231.

20. Stapelia, red, Stapelia rubra, St. Edmund, King
and Martyr, 870.

21. Sorrel, wood, Oxalis grandiflora, the presentation
of the B. V. Mary.

22. Sorrel, wood, tube-flowered, Oxalis tubiflora, St.
Cecilia, A. D. 230.

St. Cecilia, a Sicilian Martyr. She is the tutular
Saint and Patroness of Music, particularly of Sacred Music.
She is supposed to be the inventress of the organ; and to
have drawn down an Angel from Heaven by the music of her
voice.

At last divine Cecilia came,

Inventress of the vocal frame;
The sweet enthusiast, from her sacred store,

Enlarg'd the former narrow bounds,

And added length, to solemn sounds,
With Nature's Mother-wit, and arts unknown before.

Let old Timotheus yield the prize,
Or both divide the crown;

He rais'd a mortal to the skies;

She brought an Jlngel down. Dry den.

23. Sorrel, convex, Oxalis convexula, St. Clement,
Pope, A. D. 100.

24. Stapelia, starry, Stapelia radiata, St. John of the
cross, A. D. 1591.

25. Butterbur, sweet, Tussilago fragrans, St. Catha-
rine, Patroness of Spinsters, 3rd Century.

26. Sorrel, linear, Oxalis linearis, St. Conrad, Bishop
of Constance, 976.

27. Sorrel, lupine-leaved, Oxalis lupinifolia, St. Virgil,
Bishop of Saltzburg, A. D. 784.

28. Stapelia, variegated, Stapelia variegata, St. Stephen
the younger, 764.

29. Sphenogyne, Sphenogyne pilrftora, St. Saturninus,
Bishop, A. D. 257.

30. Sorrel, three-coloured, Oxalis tricolor, St. Sapor,
Bishop.

November 30th is St. Andrew's Day, Patron saint of
Scotland, one of the Apostles. A Martyr. The form of the
cross of St. Andrew, is believed to be that of the letter X,
styled a cross Decussate. The Muscovites, say he preached
among them, and claim him as the tutular saint of their Em-
pire.

DECEMBER.

1. Stapelia, dark, Stapelia pulla, St. Eligius, Bishop of
Noyon, A. D. 659.

2. Geodorum, lemon, Geodorum citrinwn, St. Bibiania,
A. D. 363.

3. Indian Tree, Euphorbia tirucalli, St. Francis Xavier,
A. D. 1552.

4. Goose-berry, Barbadoes, Cactus pereskia, St. Peter
Chrysologus, 450.

5. Hibiscus, long-stalked, Hibiscus pedunculatus, St.
Crispina, A. D. 304.

6. Heath, nest-flowered, Erica nudiflora, St. Nicholas,
Archbishop of Myra, 342.

7. Achania, hairy, Jlchania pilosa, St. Ambrose, A. D.
397.

8. Arbor Vitae, American, Thuja occidentalis, the B. V.
Mary.

9. Spruce, Corsican, Pinus Laricio, St. Leocadia, 304.

10. Cypress, Portugal, Cupressus pendula, St. Eulalia.

11. Pine, Aleppo, Pinus halepensis, St. Damascus,
Pope, 384.

12. Heath, crowded, Erica abietina, St. Eadburge, A. D.
751.

13. Arbor Vitae, African, Thuja cupressoides, St. Lucy,
A Syracuse Martyr, A. D. 304.

14. Pine, swamp, Pinus palustris, St. Spiridion, Arch-
bishop, A. D. 348.

15. Pine, pitch, Pinus resinosa, St. Florence, Abbot.

16. Arbor VitaB, Chinese, Thuja orientalis, St. Alice, or
Adelaide, Empress, A. D. 999.

17. Cedar, white, Cupressus thyoides, St. Olympias,
A. D. 410.

18. Cypress, New Holland, Cupressus australis, St.
Winebald, 760.

19. Heath, two-coloured, Erica bicolor, St. Samthana,
Abbess, 738.

20. Pine, stone, Pinus pinea, St. Philogonius, Bishop
of Antioch, 322.

21. Sparrow-wort, Erica passerina, St. Thomas, the
Apostle.

22. Heath, pellucid, Erica pellucida, St. Cyril, A. D.
881.

23. Cedar of Lebanon, Pinus cedrus, St. Victoria, 250.

24. Pine, frankincense, Pinus tseda, Sts. Thrasilla, and
Emiliana.

25. Holly, Ilex aculeata baccifera, the nativity of our
Saviour.

Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long.
And then, they say, no spirit stirs abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planet strikes j
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm —
So hallow'd, and so gracious is the time.

Shaks. Hamlet.

Christmas, the joyous period of the year!
Now with bright Holly all the temples strow,
With Laurel, green, and sacred Mistletoe.

With Holly and ivy,

So green and so gay,
We deck up our houses

As fresh as the day

Gay.

'ISK\\