Chapter VI: Part 6

As through a valley remote I strayed,
Methought, beside a mouldering temple’s stone,
The tale of whose dark structure was unknown,
I saw the form of Time: his scythe’s huge blade
Lay swathed in the grass, whose gleam was seen
Fearful, as oft the wind, the tussocks green
Moved stirring to and fro: the beam of morn
Cast a dim lustre on his look forlorn;
When touching a responsive instrument,
Stern o’er the chords his furrowed brow he bent:
Meantime a naked boy, with aspect sweet,
Played smiling with the hour-glass at his feet!
Apart from these, and in a verdant glade,
A sleeping infant on the moss was laid,
O’er which a female form her vigils kept,
And watched it, softly-breathing as it slept.
Then I drew nigh, and to my listening ear
Came, stealing soft and slow, this ditty clear:

“Lullaby, sing lullaby,--
Sweetest babe, in safety lie;
I thy mother sit and sing,
Nor hear of Time the hurrying wing.
Here, where innocence reposes,
Fairy sylphs, your sports delay;
Then the breath of morning roses
From its bed of bliss convey.
Lullaby, sing lullaby,--
Sweetest babe, in safety lie;
I thy mother sit and sing,
Nor hear of Time the hurrying wing.”

_Bowles._

* * * * *

Relentless Time! that steals with silent tread,
Shall tear away the trophies of the dead.
Fame, on the pyramid’s aspiring top,
With sighs shall her recording trumpet drop;
The feeble characters of Glory’s hand
Shall perish, like the tracks upon the sand;
But not with these expire the sacred flame
Of virtue, or the good man’s awful name.

_Bowles._

* * * * *

O Time! who know’st a lenient hand to lay
Softest on sorrow’s wound, and slowly thence
(Lulling to sad repose the weary sense)
The faint pang stealest unperceived away;
On thee I rest my only hope at last,
And think, when thou hast dried the bitter tear
That flows in vain o’er all my soul held dear,
I may look back on every sorrow past,
And meet life’s peaceful evening with a smile--
As some lone bird, at day’s departing hour,
Sings in the sunbeam, of the transient shower
Forgetful, though its wings are wet the while:--
Yet ah! how much must that poor heart endure,
Which hopes from thee, and thee alone, a cure!

_Bowles._

COMMON THISTLE.... _Misanthropy_.

Who would seek or prize
Delights that end in aching?
Who would trust to ties
That every hour are breaking?
Better far to be
In utter darkness lying,
Than be blest with light, and see
That light for ever flying.
All that’s bright must fade,--
The brightest still the fleetest,
All that’s sweet was made
But to be lost when sweetest!

_Moore._

* * * * *

I had much rather see
A crested dragon or a basilisk,
Both are less poison to my eyes and nature.

_Dryden._

* * * * *

Hate all, curse all: show charity to none;
But let the famished flesh slide from the bone,
Ere thou relieve the beggar: give to dogs
What thou deniest to men; let prisons swallow them,
Debts wither them to nothing: be men like blasted woods,
And may diseases lick up their false bloods.

_Shakspeare._

* * * * *

I am Misanthropos, and hate mankind:
For thy part, I do wish thou wert a dog,
That I might love thee something.

_Shakspeare._

* * * * *

I’ll keep my way alone, and burn away--
Evil or good I care not, so I spread
Tremendous desolation on my road:
I’ll be remembered as huge meteors are;
From the dismay they scatter.

_Proctor._

* * * * *

I see thou art implacable, more deaf
To prayers than winds and seas; yet winds and seas
Are reconciled at length, and sea to shore:
Thy anger, unappeasable, still rages
Eternal tempest never to be calm.

_Milton._

* * * * *

Warped by the world in disappointment’s school.
In words too wise, in conduct there a fool;
Too firm to yield, and far too proud to stoop,
Doomed by his very virtues for a dupe,
He cursed those virtues as the cause of ill,
And not the traitors who betrayed him still;
Nor deemed that gifts bestowed on better men,
Had left him joy, and means to give again.
Feared, shunned, belied, ere youth had lost her force,
He hated men too much to feel remorse,
And thought the voice of wrath a sacred call,
To pay the injuries of some on all.

_Byron._

* * * * *

He has outsoared the shadow of our night;
Envy and calumny, and hate and pain,
And that unrest which men miscall delight,
Can touch him not and torture not again;
From the contagion of the world’s slow stain
He is secure, and now can never mourn
A heart grown cold, a head grown gray in vain;
Nor, when the spirit’s self has ceased to burn,
With sparkless ashes load an unlamented urn.

_Shelley._

* * * * *

They too, who mid the scornful thoughts that dwell
In his rich fancy, tinging all its streams,
As if the Star of Bitterness which fell
On earth of old, and touched them with its beams,
Can track a spirit, which, though driven to hate,
From Nature’s hands came kind, affectionate;
And which, even now, struck as it is with blight,
Comes out, at times, in love’s own native light--
How gladly all, who’ve watched these struggling rays
Of a bright, ruined spirit through his lays,
Would here inquire, as from his own frank lips,
What desolating grief, what wrongs had driven
That noble nature into cold eclipse--
Like some fair orb, that, once a sun in heaven,
And born, not only to surprise, but cheer
With warmth and lustre all within its sphere,
Is now so quenched, that, of its grandeur, lasts
Naught but the wide cold shadow which it casts!

_Moore._

DEW PLANT.... _Serenade_.

Inesilla! I am here:
Thy own cavalier
Is now beneath thy lattice playing:
Why art thou delaying?

He hath ridden many a mile
But to see thy smile:
The young light on the flowers is shining,
Yet he is repining.

What to him is a summer star,
If his love’s afar?
What to him the flowers perfuming,
When his heart’s consuming?

Sweetest girl! why dost thou hide?
Beauty may abide
Even before the eye of morning,
And want no adorning.

Now, upon their paths of light,
Starry spirits bright
To catch thy brighter glance are staying:
Why art thou delaying?

_Barry Cornwall._

* * * * *

Listen! from the forest boughs
The voice-like angel of the spring
Utters his soft vows
To the proud rose blossoming.

And now beneath thy lattice dear!
I am like the bird complaining:
Thou above (I fear)
Like the rose disdaining.

From her chamber in the skies
Shouts the lark at break of morning,
And when day-light flies
Comes the raven’s warning.

This of gloom and that of mirth
In their mystic numbers tell;
But thoughts of sweeter birth
Teacheth the nightingale.

_Barry Cornwall._

PINE.... _Pity_.

Naught is there under Heaven’s wide hollowness
That moves more dear compassion of the mind
Than beauty brought to unworthy wretchedness
Through envy’s snares, or fortune’s freaks unkind:
I, whether lately through her brightness blind,
Or through allegiance and vast fealty,
Which I do owe unto all womankind,
Feel my heart pierced with so great agony,
When such I see, that all for pity I could die.

_Spenser._

* * * * *

Like Ariadne, when in pale despair
The Athenian left her,--so sad Eva pined,
And so she went complaining to the air,
And gave her tresses to the careless wind:--
The colour of her fate was on her mind,
Dark, death-like, and despairing;--and her eye
Shone lustrous, like the light of prophecy.

Over the grassy meads,--beside lone streams,
To perilous heights which no weak step could reach,
She wandered, feeding her unearthly dreams
With musing, and would move the tremulous beech
And shuddering aspen with imploring speech;
For nothing that did live, save they (who sighed)
Pitied the downfall of her amorous pride.

_Barry Cornwall._

_Your self-love and stupidity excite my pity._]

* * * * *

Has Hope, like the bird in the story,
That flitted from tree to tree
With the talisman’s glittering glory--
Has Hope been that bird to thee?
On branch after branch alighting,
The gem did she still display,
And, when nearest and most inviting,
Then waft the fair gem away!
If thus the sweet hours have fleeted,
When Sorrow herself looked bright;
If thus the fond hope has cheated,
That led thee along so light;
If thus, too, the cold world wither
Each feeling that once was dear;--
Come, child of misfortune! come hither,
I’ll weep with thee, tear for tear.

_Moore._

* * * * *

The blind man groping cautiously his way
Along the crowded pavement of a city,
Has natural claims upon our tender pity.
Whether ’twere night, or whether it were day,
Would seem to make small difference to him
Whose days and nights alike are ever dim;
Yet still the tramp of human feet, and hum
Of human voices, sweetly fill his ear;
The surgings of the tides of life appear
Like the deep sounds that from the ocean come
At midnight to the listener. Pity’s glance
Upon his form instinctively we throw;
And while some sadness clouds our countenance,
To GOD we pray to save us from such wo.

_MacKellar._

* * * * *

Come, chase that starting tear away,
Ere mine to meet it springs;
To-night, at least, to-night be gay,
Whatever to-morrow brings!
Like sunset gleams, that linger late
When all is darkening fast,
Are hours like these we snatch from Fate--
The brightest and the last.

_Moore._

* * * * *

’Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rose-bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh!

I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o’er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

_Moore._

SAGE.... _Domestic Virtues_.

At length his lonely cot appears in view,
Beneath the shelter of an aged tree;
Th’ expectant wee things, todlin stacher through
To meet their dad, wi’ flichtering noise and glee;
His wee-bit ingle blinkin bonilie,
His clean hearth-stane, his thrifty wifie’s smile,
The lisping infant prattling on his knee,
Does a’ his weary kiaugh and care beguile,
And makes him quite forget his labour and his toil.

_Burns._

* * * * *

How warmly we are loved, we seldom learn
Till pain and sorrow take our strength away;
Then hearts too long estranged, to us will turn,
And be at peace, as in a former day.
Our true and loving wife more loving grows;
Our little ones in pitying wonder stand
Beside the bed and clasp our fevered hand;
Their glistening eye the tear of feeling shows;
And it may be, when evening calls to rest,
They sadly kneel beside their mother’s chair,
Their silvery voices blend in simple prayer,
And for their sire they make a child’s request.
The times of anguish vainly are not given.
That lead a family to unity and heaven.

_MacKellar._

* * * * *

Poor madam now condemned to hack
The rest of life with anxious Jack,
Perceiving others fairly flown,
Attempted pleasing him alone.
Jack soon was dazzled to behold
Her present face surpass the old:
With modesty her cheeks are dyed,
Humility displaces pride;
For tawdry finery is seen
A person ever neatly clean;
No more presuming on her sway,
She learns good nature every day;
Serenely gay, and strict in duty,
Jack finds his wife a perfect beauty.

_Goldsmith._

* * * * *

Yes! let the rich deride, the proud disdain,
These simple blessings of the lowly train,
To me more dear, congenial to my heart,
One native charm, than all the gloss of art:
Spontaneous joys, where nature has its play,
The soul adopts, and owns their first-born sway;
Lightly they frolic o’er the vacant mind,
Unenvied, unmolested, unconfined.
But the long pomp, the midnight masquerade,
With all the freaks of wanton wealth arrayed,
In these, ere triflers half their wish obtain,
The toiling pleasure sickens into pain:
And e’en while fashion’s brightest arts decoy,
The heart distrusting asks, if this be joy?

_Goldsmith._

* * * * *

The first sure symptoms of a mind in health,
Is rest of heart, and pleasure felt at home.

_Young._

* * * * *

Nor need we power or splendour,--
Wide hall or lordly dome;
The good, the true, the tender,--
These form the wealth of home.

_Mrs. Hale._

* * * * *

His warm but simple home, where he enjoys
With her who shares his pleasure and his heart,
Sweet converse.

_Cowper._

* * * * *

Home is the sphere of harmony and peace,
The spot where angels find a resting-place,
When, bearing blessings, they descend to earth.

_Mrs. Hale._

* * * * *

Home is the resort
Of love, of joy, of peace, and plenty, where,
Supporting and supported, polished friends
And dear relations mingle into bliss.

_Thomson._

* * * * *

An angel always dwells beneath the roof
Where, in her virtue, a sweet wife fulfils
Her gentle duties; and unnumbered ills
From that love-guarded precinct keep aloof.

_MacKellar._

LICHEN.... _Solitude_.

How use doth breed a habit in a man!
The shadowy desert, unfrequented woods,
I better brook than flourishing peopled towns:
There can I sit alone, unseen of any,
And to the nightingale’s complaining notes
Tune my distresses, and record my woes.

_Shakspeare._

* * * * *

Full many a dreary hour have I past,
My brain bewildered, and my mind o’ercast
With heaviness; in seasons when I’ve thought
No sphery strains by me could e’er be caught
From the blue dome, though I to dimness gaze
On the far depth where sheeted lightning plays;
Or, on the wavy grass outstretched supinely,
Pry ’mong the stars, to strive to think divinely:
That I should never hear Apollo’s song,
Though feathery clouds were floating all along
The purple west, and, two bright streaks between,
The golden lyre itself were dimly seen:
That the still murmur of the honey-bee
Would never teach a rural song to me:
That the bright glance from beauty’s eyelids slanting
Would never make a lay of mine enchanting,
Or warm my breast with ardour to unfold
Some tale of love and arms in time of old.

_Keats._

* * * * *

No din
Invades the temple of their mind;--the mirth
And sighs of men are sounds to them unknown,
Though well they know the spirit’s inward groan;
And mortal agonies belong to them
As well as to their fellow men; for death
Hath passed on all who draw the vital breath,
And where sin is, there doth the law condemn.
Ah, hapless men! relentless Silence keeps
Her watchpost at the portals of the ear;
No heavenly word or sound approacheth near
And music’s melting influence in lasting stillness sleeps.

_MacKellar._

* * * * *

There was a poet whose untimely tomb
No human hands with pious reverence reared,
But the charmed eddies of autumnal winds
Built o’er his mouldering bones a pyramid
Of mouldering leaves in the waste wilderness;
A lovely youth!--no mourning maiden decked
With weeping flowers, or votive cypress wreath,
The lone couch of his everlasting sleep:
Gentle and brave, and generous, no lorn bard
Breathed o’er his dark fate one melodious sigh:
He lived, he died, he sang, in solitude.
Strangers have wept to hear his passionate notes,
And virgins, as unknown he past, have sighed
And wasted for fond love of his wild eyes.
The fire of those soft orbs has ceased to burn,
And Silence, too, enamoured of that voice,
Locks its mute music in her rugged cell.

_Shelley._

* * * * *

How blest the Solitary’s lot,
Who, all-forgetting, all-forgot,
Within his humble cell,
The cavern wild with tangling roots,
Sits o’er his newly-gathered fruits,
Beside his crystal well!
Or, haply, to his evening thought,
By unfrequented stream,
The ways of men are distant brought,
A faint collected dream:
While praising, and raising
His thoughts to heaven on high,
As wand’ring, meand’ring,
He views the solemn sky.
Than I, no lonely hermit placed
Where never human footstep traced,
Less fit to play the part;
The lucky moment to improve,
And just to stop, and just to move,
With self-respecting art:
But ah! those pleasures, loves, and joys
Which I too keenly taste,
The Solitary can despise,
Can want, and yet be blest!
He needs not, he heeds not,
Or human love or hate,
Whilst I here must cry here,
At perfidy ingrate!

_Burns._

DEATH OF THE FLOWERS.

The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year,
Of wailing winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown and sere.
Heaped in the hollow of the grove, the withered leaves lie dead;
They rustle to the eddying gust and to the rabbit’s tread.
The robin and the wren are flown, and from the shrub the jay,
And from the wood-top calls the crow, through all the gloomy day.
Where are the flowers, the young fair flowers, that lately sprang and stood,
In brighter light and softer airs, a beauteous sisterhood?
Alas! they all are in their graves; the gentle race of flowers
Are lying in their lonely beds, with the fair and good of ours.
The rain is falling where they lie: but the cold November rain
Calls not, from out the gloomy earth, the lovely ones again.
The wind-flower and the violet, they perished long ago,
And the wild-rose and the orchis died, amid the summer glow;
But on the hill the golden-rod, and the aster in the wood,
And the yellow sunflower by the brook, in autumn beauty stood,
Till fell the frost from the clear cold heaven, as falls the plague on men,
And the brightness of their smile was gone, from upland, glade, and glen.
And now, when comes the calm mild day, as still such days will come,
To call the squirrel and the bee from out their winter home;
When the sound of dropping nuts is heard, though all the trees are still,
And twinkle in the smoky light the waters of the rill,
The south wind searches for the flowers whose fragrance late he bore,
And sighs to find them in the wood and by the streams no more.
And then I think of one who in her youthful beauty died,
The fair meek blossom that grew up and faded by my side:
In the cold moist earth we laid her, when the forest cast the leaf,
And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief:
Yet not unmeet it was that one, like that young friend of ours,
So gentle and so beautiful, should perish with the flowers.

_Bryant._

Dictionary of Flowers,

WITH THEIR EMBLEMATIC SIGNIFICATIONS.

Acacia Friendship. ---- Rose Elegance. Acanthus The Arts. Achillea millefolia War. Adonis, Flos Painful Recollections. Agrimony Thankfulness. Almond-tree Indiscretion. Aloe Grief. Amaranth Immortality. Amaryllis Pride. Anemone Forsaken. ----, Field Sickness. Angelica Inspiration. Angrec Royalty. Apple blossom Preference. Ash tree Grandeur. Asphodel My Regrets follow you to the Grave. Aster, China Variety. ---- After-thought. Balm of Gilead Cure. ---- Gentle Joking. Balsam Impatience. Barberry Sourness of temper. Basil Hate. Beech Prosperity. Bilberry Treachery. Bladder-nut Frivolous amusement. Borage Bluntness. Box tree Stoicism. Bramble Envy. Broom Humility. ---- Ardour. Buck-bean Calm repose. Bugloss Falsehood. Bulrush Indiscretion. Burdock Touch me not. Buttercup Ingratitude.

Cactus, Virginia Horror. Canterbury Bell Constancy. Catchfly Snare. Champignon Suspicion. Cherry tree Good education. Chestnut tree Do me justice. Chicory Frugality. Cinquefoil Beloved daughter. Circæa Spell. Clematis Artifice. Clot-bur Rudeness. Clove tree Dignity. Columbine Folly. Convolvulus, Night Night. Coriander Hidden merit. Corn Riches. Cornbottle Delicacy. Cornel Cherry tree Durability. Cowslip, American You are my divinity. Cress Resolution. Crown Imperial Power. Cuscuta Meanness. Cypress Mourning.

Daffodil Self-love. Daisy Innocence. ----, Garden I share your sentiments. ----, Wild I will think of it. Dandelion The rustic oracle. Day-Lily, Yellow Coquetry. Dittany Childbirth. Dock, Patience Patience Dodder Meanness.

Ebony tree Blackness. Eglantine Poetry.

Fennel Strength. Fig Longevity. Fir tree Elevation. Flax I feel your kindness. Flower-de-Luce Flame. Forget-Me-Not Forget me not. Fraxinella Fire. Fuller’s Teasel Misanthropy. Geranium, Pencilled leaf Ingenuity. ----, Rose-scented Preference. ----, Scarlet Stupidity. ----, Sorrowful Melancholy mind. ----, Wild Steadfast piety. Grass Utility.

Hawthorn Hope. Hazel Peace, reconciliation. Heart’s-ease Think of me. Heath Solitude. Heliotrope, Peruvian Devoted attachment. Hellenium Tears. Hepatica Confidence. Holly Foresight. Hollyhock Ambition. Honeysuckle Generous and devoted affection. Hop Injustice. Hornbeam Ornament. Horse-chestnut Luxury. Hortensia You are cold. Hyacinth Game, play.

Ice-plant Your looks freeze me. Ipomæa I attach myself to you. Iris Message. Ivy Friendship.

Jasmine Amiableness. ----, Carolina Separation. ----, Indian I attach myself to you. Jonquil Desire. Juniper Protection.

Larch Boldness. Larkspur Lightness. Laurel Glory. Laurustinus I die if neglected. Lavender Mistrust. Leaves, Dead Sadness, melancholy. Lilac First emotions of love. ----, White Youth. Lily Majesty. Lily of the Valley Return of happiness. Linden tree Conjugal love. Liverwort Confidence. London Pride Frivolity. Lotus Eloquence. Lucern Life.

Madder Calumny. Maiden Hair Secrecy. Mallow Beneficence. Manchineel tree Falsehood. Mandrake Rarity. Maple Reserve. Marigold Grief. ----, Prophetic Prediction. ---- and Cypress Despair. Marvel of Peru Timidity. Meadow Saffron My best days are past. Mezereon Coquetry. ---- Desire to please. Mignonette Your qualities surpass your charms. Milkwort Hermitage. Mistletoe I surmount all difficulties. Moonwort Forgetfulness. Moss Maternal Love. Mulberry tree, Black I shall not survive you. ----, White Wisdom. Musk-plant Weakness. Myrobolan Privation. Myrtle Love.

Narcissus Self-love. Nettle Cruelty. Nightshade, Bitter-sweet Truth. ----, Enchanter’s Spell. Nosegay Gallantry.

Oak Hospitality. Olive Peace. Ophrys, Spider Skill. Orange Flower Chastity. ---- tree Generosity. Orchis, Bee Error.

Parsley Festivity. Passion Flower Faith. Peppermint Warmth of feeling. Periwinkle Tender recollections. Pine-apple You are perfect. Pink Pure love. ----, Yellow Disdain. Plane tree Genius. Plum tree Keep your promises. ----, Wild Independence. Poplar, Black Courage. ----, White Time. Poppy Consolation. ---- Sleep. ----, White My bane, my antidote. Potato Beneficence. Primrose Childhood. ----, large-flowered Evening Inconstancy. Privet Prohibition.

Quince Temptation.

Ranunculus You are radiant with charms. Reeds Music. Rose Love. ----, Hundred-leaved Grace. ----, Monthly Beauty ever new. ----, Musk Capricious beauty. ----, Single Simplicity. ----, White Silence. ----, Withered Fleeting beauty. ----, Yellow Infidelity. Rosebud A young girl. ----, White A heart unacquainted with love. Rosemary Your presence revives me. Rue, Wild Morals. Rush Docility.

Saffron Beware of excess. Sage Esteem. Sainfoil, Shaking Agitation. St. John’s Wort Superstition. Sardonia Irony. Sensitive Plant Chastity. Snapdragon Presumption. Snowdrop Hope. Sorrel, Wood Joy. Speedwell Fidelity. Spindle-tree Your charms are engraven on my heart. Star of Bethlehem Purity. Stock Lasting beauty. ----, Ten Week Promptness. Stonecrop Tranquility. Straw, Broken Rupture of a contract. ----, Whole Union. Strawberry Perfection. Sunflower False riches. Sweet Sultan Happiness. Sweet William Finesse. Sycamore Curiosity. Syringa Fraternal.

Tansey, Wild I declare war against you. Tendrils of climbing plants Ties. Thistle Surliness. Thorn-apple Deceitful charms. Thrift Sympathy. Thyme Activity. Tremella Nostoc Resistance. Truffle Surprise. Tuberose Dangerous pleasures. Tulip Declaration of love. Tussilage, Sweet-scented Justice shall be done to you.

Valerian An accommodating disposition. ----, Greek Rupture. Venus’s Looking-glass Flattery. Veronica Fidelity. Vervain Enchantment. Vine Intoxication. Violet Modesty. ----, White Innocence, candour.

Wallflower Fidelity in misfortune. Walnut Stratagem. Whortleberry Treachery. Willow, Weeping Mourning. Wormwood Absence.

Yew Sorrow.

The Calendar of Flowers.

The Roman Catholic monks, or the observers of the Roman Catholic ritual, have compiled a Catalogue of Flowers for every day in the year, and dedicated each flower to a particular saint, on account of its blooming about the time of that saint’s festival. These appropriations form a complete Calendar of the Flowers.

The figures attached express the year in which the saint died.

JANUARY.

1. Laurustinus, _Vibernum tinus_. St. Faine, or Fanchea, an Irish
saint of the sixth century.

2. Groundsel, _Senecio vulgaris_. St. Macarius of Alexandria, 394.

3. Iris, Persian, _Iris Persica_. St. Genevieve, patroness of
Paris, 422.

4. Hazel, _Corylus avellana_. St. Titus, disciple of St. Paul.

5. Hellebore, _Helleborus fœtidus_. St. Simeon Stylites of Rome.

6. Moss, screw, _Tortula rigida_. St. Nilammon.

7. Laurel, Portugal, _Prunus Lusitanica_. St. Kentigerna.

8. Tremella, 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, or Furze, _Ulex Europœus_. St. William of Bourges, 1207.

11. Moss, early, _Bryum hornum_. Swan-neck thread-moss. St.
Theodosius.

12. Moss, hygrometric, _Funaria hygrometrica_. St. Arcadius.

13. Yew tree, common, _Taxus bacata_. St. Veronica, a nun of Milan,
1497.

14. Strawberry, barren, _Fragaria sterilis_. St. Hilary, 368.

15. Ivy, _Hedera helix_. St. Paul, the first hermit.

16. Nettle, common red Dead, _Lamium purpureum_. St. Marcellus,
Pope.

17. Anemone, garden, _Anemone hortensis_. St. Anthony, patriarch of
monks, 251.

18. Moss, four-toothed, _Bryum pellucidum_. St. Prisca, a Roman
martyr.

19. Nettle, white Dead, _Lamium album_. St. Martha, a Roman martyr,
270.

20. Nettle, woolly Dead, _Lamium Gargaricum_. St. Fabian, Pope.

21. Hellebore, black, _Helleborus niger_. St. Agnes, a special
patroness of purity: beheaded at the age of thirteen, 304.

22. Grass, early whitlow, _Draba verna_. St. Vincent, a Spanish
martyr.

23. Peziza, _Peziza acetobolum_. St. Raymond of Pennafort, 1275.

24. Moss, stalkless, _Phascum muticum_. St. Timothy, disciple of
St. Paul, 250.

25. Hellebore, winter, _Helleborus hyemalis_. The Conversion of St.
Paul.

26. Butter-bur, white, _Tussilago alba_, or Colt’s-foot. St.
Polycarp.

27. Moss, earth, _Phascum cuspidatum_. St. Chrysostom.

28. Daisy, double, _Bellis perennis plenus_. St. Margaret of
Hungary, 1271.

29. Fern, flowering, _Osmunda regalis_. St. Francis of Sales, 1622.

30. Spleen-wort, _Asplenium trichomanes_. St. Martin.

31. Hart’s Tongue, or Spleen-wort, _Asplenium scolopendrium_. St.
Marcella, 410.

FEBRUARY.

1. Moss, lesser water, _Fontinalis minor_. St. Ignatius; and
Bay-tree, _Laurus nobilis_. St. Bridget, patroness of Ireland.

2. Snow-drop, _Galanthus nivalis_. Purification of the Virgin Mary.

3. Moss, great water, _Fontinalis anti-pyretica_, St. Blase of
Armenia, 316.

4. Moss, common hair, or Goldilocks, _Polytrichum commune_. St.
Jane, or Queen Joan, 1505.

Bay, Indian, _Laurus indica_. St. Margaret of England.

5. Primrose, common, _Primula vulgaris_. St. Agatha, a Sicilian
martyr.

Primrose, red, _Primula acaulis_. St. Adelaide, 1015.

6. Hyacinth, blue, _Hyacinthus orientalis_. St. Dorothy, 308.

7. Cyclamen, round-leafed, _Cyclamen coum_. St. Romuald, 1027.

8. Moss, narrow-leafed spring, _Mnium androgynum_. St. John of
Matha, 1213.

9. Narcissus, Roman, _Narcissus Romanus_. St. Apollonia, 249.

10. Mezereon, _Daphne mezereon_. St. Scholastica, 543.

Moss, silky fork, _Mnium heteromallum_. St. Coteris, fourth
century.

11. Primrose, red, _Primula verna rubra_. St. Theodora, empress,
367.

12. Anemone, noble Liverwort, _Anemone hepatica_. St. Eulalia of
Barcelona.

13. Polyanthos, _Plimula Polyanthus_. St. Catherine de Ricci, 1589.

14. Crocus, yellow, _Crocus mœsiacus_, or _Crocus aureus_. St.
Valentine, the lover’s saint. He was a priest at Rome, and married
there about the year 270.

15. Crocus, cloth of gold, _Crocus sulphureus_. St. Sigifred,
bishop of Sweden, 1002.

16. Primrose, lilac, _Primula acaulis plena_. St. Juliana.

17. Crocus, Scotch, _Crocus susianus_. St. Flavian, archbishop of
Constantinople, 449.

18. Speedwell, wall, _Veronica vernus arvensis_. St. Simeon, bishop
of Jerusalem, 116.

19. Speedwell, field, _Veronica agrestis_. St. Barbatus, patron of
Benevento, bishop, 682.

20. Cynoglossum omphalodes, or _C. lusitanicum_. St. Milfred,
abbess of Munster.

21. Crocus, white, _Crocus albus_. St. Servianus, bishop, 452.

22. Margaret, herb, _Bellis perennis_. St. Margaret of Cortona,
1297.

23. Apricot tree, _Prunus armeniaca_. St. Milburge of England.

24. Fern, great, _Osmunda regalis_. St. Ethelbert, King of Kent.

25. Peach blossom, _Amygdalus persica_. St. Walburg, abbess of
Swabia, Germany.

26. Periwinkle, lesser, _Vinca minor_. St. Victor, seventh century.

27. Lungwort, _Pulmonaria officinalis_. St. Leander, bishop, 596.

28. Crocus, purple, _Crocus vernus_. St. Proterius, patriarch of
Alexandria, 557.

MARCH.

1. Leek, common, _Allium porrum_. St. David of Wales, archbishop,
544.

2. Chickweed, dwarf mouse-ear, _Cerastium pumilum_. St. Chad, or
Ceada, martyr, under the Lombards, in the sixth century.

3. Marigold, golden fig, _Mesembryanthemum aureum_. St. Cunegunda,
empress, 1040.

4. Chickweed, common, _Alsine media_. St. Casimir, prince of
Poland, 1458.

5. Hellebore, green, _Helleborus viridis_. St. Adrian, 309.

6. Lily, Lent, _Pseudo narcissus multiplex_. St. Colette, bishop.

7. Daffodil, early, _Narcissus simplex_. St. Perpetua, martyred
under the emperor Severus, 203.

8. Rose, ever-blowing, _Rosa semperflorens_. St. Rosa, of Viterbo,
1261.

Jonquil, great, _Narcissus lœtus_. St. Felix, 646.

9. Daffodil, hoop-petticoat, _Narcissus bulbocodium_. St. Catherine
of Bologna, 1463.

10. Chickweed, upright, _Veronica triphyllos_. St. Droctavæus,
abbot, 580.

11. Heath, Cornish, _Erica vagans_. St. Eulogius of Cordova, 851.

12. Ixia, or crocus-leafed Mistletoe, _Ixia bulbocodium_, or
_Viscum albus bulbus_. St. Gregory the Great, prætor of Rome, 574.

13. Heart’s Ease, _Viola tricolor_. St. Euphrasia, 410.

14. Bindweed, mountain, _Soldanella alpina_. St. Maud, or Matilda,
queen, 968.

15. Colt’s-foot, common, _Tussilago farfara_. St. Zachary, pope,
752.

16. Daffodil, nodding, _Narcissus nutans_. St. Julian of Cilicia.

17. Violet, sweet, _Viola odorata_. St. Gertrude, abbess, 626.

Shamrock, White Trefoil, _Trifolium repens_. St. Patrick, apostle
of Ireland.

18. Leopard’s bane, great, _Doronicum pardalianches_. St. Cyril,
archbishop of Jerusalem.

19. Star of Bethlehem, yellow, _Ornithogalum luteum_. St. Joseph,
spouse of the Virgin Mary.

20. Violet, dog’s, _Viola canina_. St. Wolfram, archbishop of Sens,
720.

21. Fumitory, bulbous, _Fumaria bulbosa_. St. Bennet, or Benedict,
founder of the Order of Benedict, of Rome, 543.

22. Ficaria verna. St. Catherine of Sweden, abbess, 1381.

23. Daffodil, peerless, _Narcissus incomparabilis_. St. Alphonsus
Turibius, archbishop of Lima, 1606.

24. Saxifrage, golden, _Chrysosplenium oppositifolium_. St.
Irenæus, bishop of Sirmium, 304.

25. Marigold, _Calendula officinalis_. Annunciation of the Virgin
Mary.

26. Henbane, nightshade-leafed, _Hyosciamus scopalia_. St. Braulio,
bishop of Saragossa, 646.

27. Jonquil, sweet, _Narcissus odorus_. St. John of Egypt, hermit,
394.

28. Leopard’s bane, _Doronicum plantagineum_. St. Priscus, 260.

29. Ox-lip, or great Cowslip, _Primula elatior_. St. Eustatius,
abbot, 625.

Fumitory, _Fumaria officinalis_. St. Jonas, 327.

30. Water-cress, _Cardamine hirsuta_. St. John of Climacus.

Daffodil, lesser, _Narcissus minor_. St. Zosimus, bishop of
Syracuse, 660.

31. Benjamin tree, _Laurus benzoin_. St. Benjamin, deacon, martyr,
424.

APRIL.

1. Mercury, French annual, _Mercurialis annua_. St. Hugh, bishop,
1132.

2. Violet, white, _Viola alba_. St. Francis of Paula, a native of
Calabria.

3. Alkanet, evergreen, _Anchusa sempervirens_. St. Agape, 304.

4. Crown Imperial, red, _Fritillaria imperialis_. St. Isidore,
bishop of Seville, 636.

5. Crown Imperial, yellow, _Fritillaria imperialis lutea_. Vincent
Ferrer, 1419.

6. Hyacinth, starch, _Hyacinthus racemosus_. St. Sixtus I., pope.

7. Anemone, wood, _Anemona nemorosa_. St. Aphraates, fourth
century.

8. Ground-ivy, _Glechoma hederacea_. St. Dionysius, bishop of
Corinth.

9. Polyanthos, red, _Primula_. St. Mary of Egypt, 421.

10. Violet, pale, _Viola tambrigens_. St. Mechtildes, abbess,
fourteenth century.

11. Dandelion, _Leontodon taraxacum_. St. Leo the Great, pope, 461.

12. Saxifrage, great thick-leafed, _Saxifraga crassifolia_. St.
Zeno, bishop, 380.

13. Narcissus, green, _Narcissus viridiflorus_. St. Hermenegild,
martyr, 586.

14. Borage, common, _Borago officinalis_. St. Lidwina, 1184.

15. Stitchwort, greater, _Stellaria holostea_. St. Peter Gonzales,
1246.

16. Tulip, yellow, _Tulipa sylvestris_. St. Joachim of Sienna,
1305.

17. Arum, Friar’s cowl, broad-leafed, _Arum arisarum_. St. Stephen
of Citeaux, abbot, 1134.

18. Narcissus, musk, _Narcissus moschatus_. St. Appollonius, 186.

19. Garlic, _Allium ursinum_. St. Leo IX., pope, 1054.

20. Snowflake, spring, _Leucoium vernum_. St. Agnes of Monte
Pulciano, 1317.

21. Narcissus, cypress, _Narcissus orientalis albus_. St. Anselm,
archbishop of Canterbury.

22. Crowfoot, wood, or Goldilocks, _Ranunculus auricomus_. St.
Rufus of Glendaloch.

23. Harebell, _Hyacinthus non scriptus_. St. George the martyr,
patron of England.

24. Black thorn, _Prunus spinosa_. St. Fidelis.

25. Tulip, clarimond, _Tulipa præcox_. St. Mark, the Evangelist.

26. Erysimum, yellow, _Erysimum barbarea_. St. Richarius, abbot,
645.

27. Daffodil, great, _Narcissus major_. St. Anastasius, pope, 401.

28. Arum, spotted, _Arum maculatum_. Sts. Didymus and Theodora,
304.

29. Herb, Robert, _Geranium robertianum_. St. Robert, abbot of
Molesme, 1110.

30. Cowslip, _Primula veris_. St. Catherine of Sienna, 1380.

MAY.

1. Tulip, Genser, _Tulipa gesnerina_. St. Philip, supposed 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, _Raphanus raphanistrum_, or _Sinapus arvensis_. St.
Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, 373.

3. Narcissus, poetic, _Narcissus poeticus_. The discovery of the
cross, 326.

4. Stock Gilliflower, _Cheiranthus incanus_. St. Monica, mother of
St. Augustine.

5. Apple-tree, _Pyrus malus_. Sts. Angelus and Pius V., pope, 1572.

6. Globe Flower, bright yellow, _Trollius europæus_. St. John
Damascene, 780.

7. Globe Flower, Asiatic, bright orange, _Trollius asiaticus_. St.
John of Beverly.

8. Lily of the Valley, _Convallaria majalis_. St. Selena.

9. Lily of the Valley, _Convallaria multiflora_. St. Gregory of
Nazianzen, 389.

10. Peony, slender-leafed, _Pæonia tenuifolia_. St. Comgal, Irish
abbot, 601.

11. Asphodel, Lancashire, _Asphodelus luteus_. St. Mammertus,
archbishop of Vienna, 477.

12. Iris, German, _Iris Germanica_. St. Germanus, patriarch of
Constantinople, 733.

13. Comfrey, common, _Symphytum officinalis_. St. John the silent,
bishop, 558.

14. Peony, common, _Pæonia officinalis_, and Peony, coralline, _P.
corollina_. St. Pontius, 258.

15. Poppy, Welsh, _Papaver cambricum_. St. Dympna, seventh century.

16. Star of Bethlehem, great _Ornithogalum umbellatum_. St. John
Nepomucene, 1383.

17. Poppy, early red, _Papaver argemone_. St. Paschal, 1592.

18. Mouse-ear, or Hawkweed, _Hieracium pilosella_. St. Eric, King
of Sweden, 1151.

19. Monk’s hood, _Aconitum napellus_. St. Dunstan, archbishop of
Canterbury, 988.

20. Horse Chestnut, _Æschylus hippocastanum_. St. Bernardine of
Sienna, 1444.

21. Ragged Robin, _Lychnis flos cuculi_. St. Felix of Cantalicio,
1587.

22. Star of Bethlehem, yellow, _Tragopogon pratensis_. St. Yvo,
1303.

23. Lilac, _Springa vulgaris_. St. Julia, fifth century.

24. Poppy, monkey, _Papaver orientale_. St. Vincent of Lerins, 450.

25. Herb, Bennet, common, _Geum urbanum_. St. Urban, pope, 223.

26. Rhododendron, purple, _Rhododendron ponticum_. St. Augustine,
archbishop of Canterbury, 604.

Azalea, yellow, _Azalea pontica_. St. Philip Neri, 1595.

27. Buttercup, _Ranunculus acris_. St. John, pope, 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. Spearwort, lesser, _Ranunculus flammula_. St. Ferdinand III.,
confessor, King of Castile and Leon, 1252.

31. Lily, Yellow Turk’s cap, _Lilium pomponium_. St. Petronilla,
first century.

JUNE.

1. Rose, yellow, _Rosa lutea_. St. Justin, martyr, 167.

2. Pimpernel, common scarlet, _Anagallis arvensis_. St. Erasmus,
303.

3. Rose of Meaux, _Rosa provincialis_. St. Cecilius, 211.

4. Indian Pink, _Dianthus chinensis_. St. Quirinus, bishop, 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, eighth century.

6. Pink, common, _Dianthus deltoides_. St. Norbert, 1134.

7. Centaury, red, _Chironia centaureum_. St. Paul, bishop of
Constantinople, 350.

8. Money-wort, Herb Two-pence, or creeping Loosestrife, _Lysimachia
nummularia_. St. Medard, bishop, sixth century.

9. Barberry, _Berberis vulgaris_. St. Columba, 597.

10. Iris, bright yellow, _Iris pseudo-acorus_. St. Margaret, queen
of Scotland, 1093.

11. Daisy, midsummer, _Crysanthemum leucanthemum_, St. Barnabas,
apostle, first century.

12. Rose, white dog, _Rosa arvensis_. St. John, hermit, 1479.

13. Ranunculus, garden, _Ranunculus asiaticus_. St. Anthony of
Padua, 1231.

14. Basil, sweet, _Ocimum basilicum_. St. Basil, archbishop, 379.

15. Sensitive plant, _Mimosa sensitiva_. St. Vitus, martyr, fourth
century.

16. Rose, moss, _Rosa muscosa_. St. Julietta, martyr, 304.

17. Monkey-flower, yellow, _Mimulus luteus_. St. Nicandeo, about
303.

18. Poppy, horned, _Chelidonium glaucum_. St. Marina, eighth
century.

19. La Julienne de Nuit, _Hesperis tristis_. St. Juliana
Falconieri, 1340.

20. Poppy, doubtful, _Papaver dubium_. St. Silverius, pope, 538.

21. Bugloss, Viper’s _Echium Vulgare_. St. Aloysius, 1591.

22. Canterbury Bell, _Campanula medium_. St. Paulinus, bishop of
Nola, 431.

23. Ladies Slipper, _Cypripedium calceolus_. St. Etheldreda, 679.

24. St. John’s Wort, _Hipericum pulchrum_. Nativity of St. John the
Baptist.

25. Sweet William, _Dianthus barbatus_. St. William of Monte
Virgine, 1142.

26. Sowthistle, Alpine hairy blue, _Sonchus cœruleus_. St.
Reingarda, 1135.

27. St. John’s Wort, perforated, _Hypericum perforatum_. St. John
of Montier, sixth century.

28. Cornflower, blue, _Centaurea cyanus_. St. Irenæus, bishop of
Lyons, 202.

29. Rattle, yellow, _Rhinanthus crista-galli_. St. Peter the
apostle.

30. Cistus, yellow, _Cistus helianthemum_. St. Paul the apostle.

JULY.

1. Agrimony, _Agrimonia eupatoria_. St. Aaron.

2. Lily white, _Lilium candidum_. Virgin Mary.

3. Mallow, common, _Malva sylvestris_. St. Phocas, a gardener,
303.

4. Day Lily, tawny, _Hemerocallis fulva_. St. Ulric, bishop of
Augsburg.

5. Rose, double yellow, _Rosa sulphurea_. St. Edana, of Elphin and
Tuam.

6. Hawkweed, _Crepis barbata_. St. Julian, anchorite, fourth
century.

7. Nasturtium, _Tropæolum majus_. St. Felix, bishop of Nantes, 584.

8. Primrose, evening, _Œnothera biennis_. St. Elizabeth, queen of
Portugal, 1336.

9. Sowthistle, marsh, _Sonchus palustris_. St. Everildis.

10. Snapdragon, speckled, _Antirrhinum triphyllum_. Sts. Rufina and
Secunda, 257.

11. Lupine, yellow, _Lupinus flavus_. St. James, bishop of Nisibis,
350.

12. Snapdragon, great, _Antirrhinum purpureum_. St. John Gualbert,
abbot, 1073.

13. Lupine, blue, _Lupinus hirsutus_. St. Eugenius, bishop, 505.

14. Lupine, red, _Lupinus perennis_. St. Bonaventure, cardinal
bishop, 1274.

15. Marigold, Small Cape, purple and white, _Calendula pluvialis_.
St. Swithin, bishop, 862.

16. Convolvulus, _Convolvulus purpureus_. St. Eustathius, patriarch
of Antioch, 338.

17. Sweet-pea, _Lathyrus odoratus_. St. Marcellina, 397.

18. Marigold, autumn, _Chrysanthemum coronarium_. St. Bruno,
bishop, 1125.

19. Hawkweed, golden, _Hieracium auranticum_. St. Vincent de Paule,
1660.

20. Dragon’s head, Virginian, _Dracocephalus Virginianum_. St.
Margaret of Antioch.

21. Lily, Philadelphian, _Lilium Philadelphicum_. St. Praxedes.

22. Lily, African, _Agapanthus umbellatus_. St. Mary Magdalen.

23. Musk flower, _Scabias atro-purpurea_. St. Apollinaris, bishop
of Ravenna.

24. Lupine tree, _Lupinits arboreus_. St. Lupus, bishop, 478.

25. Herb Christopher, white, _Actea spicata_. St. Christopher.

26. Chamomile, or Corn Feverfew, _Matricaria chamomilla_. St. Ann,
mother of the Virgin Mary.

27. Loose-strife, _Lythrum salicaria_. St. Pantaleon, 303.

28. Groundsel, mountain, _Senecio montanus_. St. Innocent I., pope,
417.

29. Chironia, red, _Chironia centorium_. St. Martha.

30. Mullein, white, _Verbascum lychnitis_. St. Julietta, 303.

31. Mullein, yellow, _Verbascum virgatum_. St. Ignatius of Loyola,
founder of the Jesuits, 1556.

AUGUST.

1. Stramony, or Thorn-apple, _Datura stramonium_. St. Peter ad
Vincula.

2. Tiger Lily, _Lilium tigrum_. St. Alfrida, 834.

3. Hollyhock, _Althea rosea_. Discovery of the relics of St.
Stephen, 415.

4. Bluebell, _Campanula rotundifolia_. St. Dominic, founder of the
Friar Preachers, 1221.

5. Lily, Egyptian water, _Nelumbo nilotica_. St. Mary ad Nives.

6. Meadow Saffron, _Colchicum autumnale_.--Transfiguration of our
Lord on Mount Tabor.

7. Amaranth, common, _Amaranthus hypochondriacus_. St. Cajetan,
1547.

8. Love-lies-bleeding, _Amaranthus procumbens_. St. Hormisdas.

9. Ragwort, yellow, _Senecio jacobæa_. St. Romanus.

10. Balsam, _Impatiens balsamea_. St. Lawrence, martyr, 258.

11. China Aster, _Aster Chinensis_. St. Susanna, third century.

12. Sowthistle, great corn, _Sonchus arvensis_. St. Clare, abbess,
1253.

13. Groundsel, marsh, Great Fen Ragwort, or Bird’s Tongue, _Senecio
paludosus_. St. Radigunda.

14. Zinnia, _Zinnia elegans_. St. Eusebius, third century.

15. Virgin’s Bower, white, _Clematis vitalba_. Assumption of the
Virgin Mary; or the miraculous ascent of her body into heaven.

16. Lily, belladonna, _Amaryllis belladonna_. St. Hyacinth, 1257.

17. Snapdragon, Toadflax, _Antirrhinum linaria_. St. Manus, 275.

18. Marigold, African, _Tagetes erecta_. St. Helen, empress, 382.

19. Timothy grass, branched Cat’s Tail grass, _Phleum
panniculatum_, or _Ph. asperum_. St. Timothy, 304.

20. Dandelion, _Leontodon serotinus_. St. Bernard, abbot, 1153.

21. Marigold, French, _Tagetes patula_. St. Jean Francois de
Chantal, 1641.

22. Timothy, common Cat’s Tail grass, _Phleum pratense_. St.
Timothy, 311.

23. Tansy, common, _Tanacetum vulgare_. St. Philip Beniti, 1285.

24. Sunflower, tall, _Helianthus annuus_. St. Bartholomew, apostle.

25. Sunflower, perennial, _Helianthus multiflorus_. St. Louis, king
of France, 1270.

26. Amaryllis, banded, _Amaryllis rotata_. St. Zephyrinus, pope,
219.

27. Hawkweed, hedge, _Hieracium umbellatum_. St. Cæsarius,
archbishop of Arles, 542.

28. Golden rod, _Solidago Virga aurea_. St. Augustine, bishop, 430.

29. Hollyhock, yellow, _Althea flava_. St. Sabinus, king, about
697.

30. Lily, Guernsey, _Amaryllis sarniensis_. St. Rose of Lima, 1617.

31. Pheasant’s eye, _Adonis autumnalis_. St. Raymond Nonnatus,
1240.

SEPTEMBER.

1. Orpine, or Livelong, great, _Sedum telephium_. St. Giles, patron
of beggars and cripples. Born at Athens; abbot of Nismes, in
France, died 750.

2. Golden rod, _Solidago_. St. Margaret, thirteenth century.

3. Flea-bane, common yellow, _Inula dysenterica_. St. Simeon
Stylites, the younger, 592.

4. Soapwort, pale pink, _Saponaria officinalis_. St. Rosalia,
1160.

5. Mushroom, or champignon, _Agaricus campestris_. St. Laurence
Justinian, first patriarch of Venice. 1455.

6. Dandelion, _Leontodon autumnalis_. St. Pambo of Nitria, 385.

7. Starwort, golden, _Aster solidaginoides_. St. Cloud, 560.

8. Starwort, Italian blue, _Aster amellus_. St. Adrian, 306.

9. Golden rod, Canadian, _Solidago Canadensis_. St. Omer, 607.

10. Crocus, autumnal, _Crocus autumnalis_. St. Pulcheria, empress,
453.

11. Meadow Saffron, variegated, _Colchicum variegatum_. St.
Hyacinthus, 257.

12. Passion-flower, semilunar, _Passiflora peltata_. St. Earnswith,
abbess, seventh century.

13. Crocus, officinal, _Crocus sativus_. St. Eulogius, patriarch of
Alexandria, 608.

14. Passion-flower, blue, _Passiflora cœrulea_. Exaltation of the
Holy Cross, 629.

15. Saffron Byzantine, _Colchicum Byzanticum_. St. Nicetas, fourth
century.

16. Starwort, sea-blue, _Aster tripolium_. St. Editha, 984.

17. Mallow, narrow-leafed, _Malva angustifolia_. St. Lambert,
bishop, 709.

18. Starwort, pendulous, _Aster pendulus_. St. Thomas, archbishop
of Valencia, 1555.

19. Scabius, Devil’s bit, _Scabiosa succisa_. St. Lucy, 1090.

20. Meadow Saffron, common, _Colchicum autumnale_. St. Eustachius.

21. Passion-flower, fringed-leafed, variegated, _Passiflora
ciliata_. St. Matthew, the Evangelist.

22. Boletus, tree, _Boletus arboreus_. St. Maurice, fourth century.

23. Starwort, white bushy, _Aster dumosus_. St. Thecla, first
century.

24. Fungus, _Agaricus fimetarius_. St. Gerard, bishop, 1046.

25. Boletus, great, order Fungi, _Boletus bovinus_. St. Ceolfrid,
abbot, 716.

26. Golden rod, great, _Solidago gigantea_. St. Justina, 304.

27. Starwort, white small-leafed N. American, _Aster multiflorus_.
St. Delphina, 1323.

28. Golden rod, evergreen, _Solidago sempervirens_. St. Eustochium,
419.

29. Michaelmas Daisy, _Aster tradescanti_. St. Michael and all
angels.

30. Amaryllis, golden, _Amaryllis aurea_. St. Jerome, 420.

OCTOBER.

1. Amaryllis, lowly, _Amaryllis humilis_. St. Remigius, bishop of
Rheims, 533.

2. Soapwort, _Saponaria officinalis_. Feast of the holy guardian
angels.

3. Helenium, downy, _Helenium pubescens_. St. Dionysius, the
Areopagite, 51.

4. Southernwood, dwarf, _Artemisa abrotanum_. St. Francis of
Assissi, founder of the order of Franciscans, 1226.

5. Chamomile, starlike, a fungus, _Boltonia asteroides_. St.
Placidus, 546.

6. Feverfew, creeping rooted, _Pyrethrum serotinum_. St. Bruno,
founder of the Carthusian order, 1101.

7. Chrysanthemum, Indian, _Chrysanthemum Indicum_. St. Mark, pope,
336.

8. Maudlin, sweet, _Achillea ageratum_. St. Bridget, 1373.

9. Mushroom, milky, _Agaricus lactifluus acris_, or _A. Listeri_.
St. Denys, patron saint of France.

10. Aletris, Cape waved-leafed, _Aletris viridifolia_. St. Francis
Borgia, 1572.

11. Holly, common, _Ilex aquifolium_. St. Ethelburga, 664.

12. Fleabane, wavy, _Inula undulata_. St. Wilfred, bishop of York,
709.

13. Helenium, yellow, smooth, _Helenium autumnale_. St. Edward,
king and confessor, 1066.

14. Fleabane, Indian, _Inula Indica_. St. Calixtus, pope, 222.

15. Sweet Sultan, purple, _Centaurea moschata_. St. Teresa, 1582.

16. Yarrow, _Achillea millefolium_. St. Gall, abbot, 646.

17. Sunflower, dwarf, _Helianthus indicus_. St. Anstrudis, 688.

18. Mushroom, _Agaricus floccosus_. St. Luke, Evangelist, 63.

19. Tick-seed, perennial, _Coreopsis procera_. St. Frideswith,
patroness of Oxford, eighth century.

20. Sweet Sultan, yellow, _Centaurea suaveolens_. St. Artemius,
362.

21. Silphium, hairy-stalked, _Silphium asteriscus_. St. Ursula,
fifth century.

22. Silphium, rough three-leafed, _Silphium trifoliatum_. St.
Nunilo, 840.

23. Starwort, slender-stalked, _Aster junceus_. St. Theodoret, 362.

24. Starwort, Carolina, _Aster Carolinus flexuosus_. St. Proclus,
archbishop of Constantinople, 447.

25. Starwort, fleabane, _Aster Conizoides_. St. Crispin, 287.

Starwort, meagre, _Aster miser_. St. Crispinian, 287.--These were
brothers and martyrs, shoemakers, and patrons of that art.

26. Golden rod, late flowered, _Solidago petiolaris_. St.
Evaristus, pope, 112.

27. Starwort, floribund, _Aster floribundus_. St. Frumentius,
apostle of Ethiopia, fourth century.

28. Chrysanthemum, late-flowering creeping. _Chrys. serotinum_ St.
Simon, Apostle, the Zealot.

Starwort, scattered, _Aster passiflorus_. St. Jude, Apostle.

29. Narcissus, green autumnal, _Narcissus viridiflorus_. St.
Narcissus, bishop of Jerusalem, second century.

30. Mushroom, mixed, _Agaricus fimetarius_. St. Marcellus the
centurion, 298.

31. Tick-seed, fennel-leaved, _Coreopsis ferulafolia_. St. Quintin,
287.

NOVEMBER.

1. Laurustinus, _Laurustinus sempervirens_. St. Fortunatus.

2. Cherry, winter, _Physalis_. St. Marcian, 387.

3. Primrose, _Primula vulgaris_. St. Flour, 389.

4. Strawberry tree, _Arbutus_. St. Brinstane, bishop of Winchester,
931.

5. Cherry, common winter, _Physalis alkakengi_. St. Bertille,
abbess of Chelles, 692.

6. Yew tree, common, _Taxus baccata_. St. Leonard, sixth century.

7. Furcræa, _Furcræa gigantea_. St. Willebord, first bishop of
Utrecht, 738.

8. Aletris, Cape, _Veltheimia_. The four crowned Brothers, martyrs,
304.

9. Aletris, glaucous-leafed, _Veltheimia glauca_. St. John Lateran.

10. Fir, Scotch, _Pinus sylvestris_. St. Nympha, fifth century.

11. Pine, Weymouth, _Pinus strobus_. St. Martin, bishop, 397.

12. Aloe, great orange-flowering, _Veltheimia_, or _Aletris
uvaria_. St. Nilus, 390.

13. Bay, _Laurus poetica_. St. Homobonus, 1197.

14. Laurel, Portugal, _Cerasus Lusitanica_. St. Lawrence, bishop 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, 1242.

17. Stramony, or Thorn-apple tree, _Datura arborea_. St. Gregory,
Thaumaturgus, bishop, 270.

18. Passion-flower, notch-leafed, _Passiflora serratifolia_.
Dedication of the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome.

19. Passion-flower, apple-fruited, _Passiflora maliformis_. St.
Elizabeth of Hungary, 1231.

20. Stapelia, red, _Stapelia rubra_. St. Edmund, king and martyr,
870.

21. Sorrel, wood, _Oxalis grandiflora_. Presentation of the Virgin
Mary.

22. Sorrel, wood, tube-flowered, _Oxalis tubiflora_. St. Cecilia,
martyr, and patroness of music, particularly of sacred music;
supposed to be the inventress of the organ, 230.

23. Sorrel, convex, _Oxalis convexula_. St. Clement, pope, 100.

24. Stapelia, starry, _Stapelia radiata_. St. John of the Cross,
1591.

25. Butterbur, sweet, _Tussilago fragrans_. St. Catherine,
patroness of spinsters, third century.

26. Sorrel, linear, _Oxalis linearis_. St. Conrad, bishop of
Constance, 976.

27. Sorrel, lupine-leafed, _Oxalis lupinifolia_. St. Virgil, bishop
of Salzburg, 784.

28. Stapelia, variegated, _Stapelia variegata_. St. Stephen the
younger, 764.

29. Sphenogyne, _S. piloflora_. St. Saturninus, bishop, 257.

30. Sorrel, three-coloured, _Oxalis tricolor_. St. Sapor, bishop.

DECEMBER.

1. Stapelia, dark, _S. pulla_. St. Eligius, bishop of Noyon, 659.

2. Geodorum, lemon, _Geodorum citrinum_. St. Bibiania, 363.

3. Indian tree, _Euphorbia tirucalle_. St. Francis Xavier, 1552.

4. Gooseberry, Barbadoes, _Cactus pereskia_. St. Chrysologus, 450.

5. Hibiscus, long-stalked, _H. pedunculatus_. St. Crispina, 304.

6. Heath, nest-flowered, _Erica nudiflora_. St. Nicholas,
archbishop of Myra, 342.

7. Achania, hairy, _Achania pilosa_. St. Ambrose, 397.

8. Arbor Vitæ, American, _Thuga occidentalis_. Blessed Virgin Mary.

9. Spruce, Corsican, _Pinus laricio_. St. Leodocia, 304.

10. Cypress, Portugal, _Cupressus pendula_. St. Eulalia.

11. Pine, Aleppo, _Pinus halapensis_. St. Damascus, pope, 384.

12. Heath, crowded, _Erica abietina_. St. Eadburga, 751.

13. Arbor Vitæ, African, _Thuga cupressoides_. St. Lucy, martyr of
Syracuse, 304.

14. Pine, swamp, _Pinus palustris_. St. Spiridion, archbishop, 348.

15. Pine, pitch, _Pinus resinosa_. St. Florence, abbot.

16. Arbor Vitas, Chinese, _Thuga orientalis_. St. Adelaide,
empress, 999.

17. Cedar, white, _Cupressus thyoides_. St. Olympias, 410.

18. Cypress, New-Holland, _Cupressus australis_. St. Winebald, 760.

19. Heath, two-coloured, _Erica bicolor_. St. Samthana, abbess,
738.

20. Stone-pine, _Pinus pinea_. St. Philogonius, bishop of Antioch,
322.

21. Sparrow-wort, _Erica passerina_. St. Thomas, apostle.

22. Heath, pellucid, _Erica pellucida_. St. Cyril, 881.

23. Cedar of Lebanon, _Pinus cedrus_. St. Victoria, 250.

24. Pine, frankincense, _Pinus tæda_. Sts. Thrasilla and Emiliana.

25. Holly, _Ilex aculeata baccifera_. Nativity of our Saviour.

26. Heath, purple, _Erica purpurea_. St. Stephen, first martyr.

27. Heath, flame, _Erica flammea_. St. John, the 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 glandulosa_. St. Anysia, 304.

31. There is no flower appropriated to this day.

The Dial of Flowers.

’Twas a lovely thought to mark the hours,
As they floated in light away,
By the opening and the folding flowers
That laugh to the summer’s day.

Thus had each moment its own rich hue,
And its graceful cup and bell,
In whose coloured vase might sleep the dew,
Like a pearl in an ocean shell.

To such sweet signs might the time have flowed,
In a golden current on,
Ere from the garden, man’s first abode,
The glorious guests were gone.

So might the days have been brightly told--
Those days of song and dreams--
When shepherds gathered their flocks of old
By the blue Arcadian streams;
So, in those isles of delight, that rest
Far off in a breezeless main,
Which many a bark with a weary guest
Has sought, but still in vain.

Yet is not life, in its real flight,
Marked thus--even thus--on earth,
By the closing of one hope’s delight,
And another’s gentle birth?

Oh! let us live so that, flower by flower,
Shutting in turn, may leave
A lingerer still for the sunset hour,
A charm for the shaded eve!

_Hemans._

When a plant is approaching its state of perfection, when its organs of nourishment are completely developed, and its vegetation is most luxuriant, then arrives the time of flowering, which has been aptly termed “the joy of plants.” The most superficial observer must have noticed how different is the season of flowering of individual plants, and how each month is adorned with its particular flowers. When the intense cold of January confines us to our houses, the Black Hellebore, or Christmas Rose, unfolds its dazzling white blossoms; in February, the innocent Snowdrop presents to us her elegant cup. In the same month the Hazel puts forth its catkins, and not rarely the early-blooming Crowfoot shows the blue tips of its clusters of blossom. March boasts a richer Flora; then the Violet delights us with its fragrance; the Mezereon offers its peach-coloured flowers, and the Primrose leads on a long train of the charming children of Spring. These now continue to advance in increasing numbers, displaying, especially in May and June, their highest splendour; till at length the Meadow Saffron takes leave of inclement Autumn, and, saturated with rain, the Mosses acquire fresh vigour, and open to the botanist a new field for investigation.

Not less different than the period of flowering is the time of the opening and shutting of flowers. Some plants habitually open and close their flowers by turns; others are governed in these respects by the weather; others again, by the length or shortness of the day: while some open and shut at certain hours, and thus furnish materials for composing the Dial of Flowers.

According to the observations of later botanists, the flowery crown of plants serves, among other things, to envelop the tender organs of fructification, and to protect them from the pernicious influence of external agents. Those organs of fructification are the chief objects of the maternal care of Nature; while shut up in the flower-bud, they acquire that strength and perfection of parts which enable them to endure the light of the sun, and to perform the functions for which they are designed. It is not till they are capable of fulfilling these functions that the flower unfolds itself; but it again closes at such times when external influences might be injurious to the delicate organs of fructification. Many flowers can bear only the refreshing morning air and the first rays of the sun, but remain shut all the rest of the day. This may be particularly observed in the different species of Convolvulus, Ipomæa, and Goat’s Beard. We find these, in general, open only till about eleven o’clock. In like manner, the Mallows and the Mesembryanthemums unfold their flowers about noon: and precisely at that time, in serene weather, open the singularly-formed Drosera, and the common Purslain, which shut again in an hour. Others unfold themselves only in the evening, and continue open all night, probably because their delicate organs would be injured by the sun. The Œnotheras, the Gauras, and the different species of the Mirabilis, furnish examples of this kind. Thus, too, the Cactus opuntia opens its magnificent blossoms at night only, and towards morning shuts them up for ever. The flowers of many plants of the nineteenth class are observed to hang their heads during night--the Camellia, for example--by which means the rain, or dew, which might injure the tender organs of fructification, can run off the more easily. In other plants of this class, the flower shuts up against rain, and on the approach of evening, as is the case with the Marigolds.

The periodical change of colour in some flowers is also worthy of remark. Thus, the flowers of the speckled French Honeysuckle (_Hedysarum maculatum_) are purple in the morning and green at noon. The changeable Hibiscus (_Hibiscus mutabilis_) is white in the morning, flesh-coloured at noon, and rose-red in the evening. Thus, too, the great Corn-flag (_Gladiolus grandis_) changes its colour several times in the course of the day.

Neither is the scent of flowers equally strong and agreeable at all hours of the day: many, even of our indigenous flowers, have the strongest scent at night. The _Ixia cinnamomea_ gives out its fragrance in the evening only; the highly-scented Lesser Orpine (_Crassula odoratissima_) only in the night; the _Epidendrum fragrans_, morning and evening; another species of Epidendrum, hung up in a room, without earth or water, yields an agreeable perfume for years. The flowers of the _Hebenstreitia dentata_ are scentless in the morning, have a disagreeable smell at noon, and give out in the evening a fragrant odour, not unlike that of the Hyacinth.

These properties of flowers, and the opening and shutting of many at particular times of the day, led to the idea of planting them in such a manner as to indicate the succession of the hours, and to make them supply the place of a watch or clock. Those who are disposed to try the experiment may easily compose such a dial by consulting the following table, comprehending the hours between three in the morning and eight in the evening.