Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1884 edition. Excerpt: ... FLOWERS AND THE SEASONS. ! F our present chapter should be little more than a list of names, the study of this branch of flower-lore will not be without value or interest . It will help us to form some idea, perhaps, of the vast variety of flowers which now grace our gardens and hedgerows; will teach us how thoughtful the Creator has been in spreading over all the various seasons of the year, from morning till night, and from New Year to Christmas, a plentiful array of blossoms and berries for cheering the eye and delighting the other senses of man; will reveal to us some of the marvels of plant-life; while, lastly, we may learn something more of the history of words, of the calendar, and other subjects which are worthy our attention. We will begin with the lower divisions of time and gradually ascend the scale; and as we do so our first business will be to notice that some flowers bear the name of a particular hour or period of the day. Thus we find a plant growing in Mexico and elsewhere, which has acquired the name of Four-o'clock. Its more general name is that of Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis), and it is so beautiful and fragrant a plant, that it well deserves the latter title. But its more colloquial name is not less appropriate, seeing that it has been given on account of the regularity with which, in some cases, the flower opens at that hour. I shall have to speak of another name for this plant by-and-by. Then we have a Lady Eleven-o'clock (Ornithogalum), or Eleven-o'clock Lady, called in French also Dame or Belle d'onze fieures, from its waking up and opening its eyes so late in the day. For fifteen days it opens regularly at eleven o'clock. This flower is also called the Star of Bethlehem, by which name perhaps many will more easily...