292 WILD FLOWEBS OF 



Corn seems certainly remarkable, if not unaccountable 

 on philosophical principles, whatever may have been 

 written by the poet or moralist. It has been sug- 

 gested by some authors as indicating that sound and 

 refreshing sleep, which is the usual accompaniment of, 

 and necessary restorative to, tired nature, oppressed 

 with the toils of cultivation. So it is apostrophised 

 by Mrs. CHARLOTTE SMITH 



" And thou, by pain and sorrow blest, 

 Papaver, that an opiate dew 

 Conceal'st beneath thy scarlet vest, 

 Contrasting with the corn-flower blue." 



Taken in another light, it seems to exhibit the 

 contrast of great show with little results, amidst un- 

 ostentatious worth, ripening, almost unnoticed, into 

 universal utility. But economically considered, the 

 Poppy requires a manured soil for its luxuriant growth, 

 and thus the most splendid varieties flame in the 

 flower garden, while casual seeds scattered from these 

 upon its confines, produce very indifferent corollas 

 It thus providently follows cultivation, marking it 

 wherever it extends, and as mitigating disease and 

 closing the weary eye in slumber, the Poppies of sleep 

 may deserve qualified commendation. The curious 

 manner in which the unopened flowers droop towards 

 the earth and rise upright in expansion, has been fre- 

 quently noticed. HOMER has a simile from their 

 drooping in rain : 



"As brilliant Poppies overcharg'd with rain, 

 Recline their heads, and droop above the plain, 

 So sinks the youth." 



The Corn-Marygold (Chrysanthemum segetum), is 

 another brilliant corn-flower, that where it prevails 



