142 TEANSACnONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



its petals to the sun in every quarter of the globe. "The flush of 

 beauty may have vanished from its withered petals, but the perfume 

 of the rose will cling to it still," and as the rose is the queen of flow- 

 ers, so its fragrance is the queen of perfume. 



This flower has been blended with the lily, to form a general 

 emblem of frail mortality. " Consider the lily," were the words of 

 one whose wisdom and instruction have echoed down the ages. The 

 historic record of the lily dates back a little over one thousand years 

 before Christ. 



In the building of Solomon's temple, the Plio?necian architect 

 had carved on the pillars of the porch, lilies; and also on one of the 

 lavers in the temple, which was considered a masterpiece of Phcenec- 

 ian skill. 



The lily is held in high esteem by many, for the frequent allu- 

 sion made to it in the scripture — the nativity of this plant has a 

 wide geographical range, some are found in the cooler provinces, 

 others deep rooted in the burning rays of a tropical sun. 



The Auratum lily is considered the king of lilies, and perhaps 

 we would not err in saying the king of the flower garden, — it is 

 very beautiful in its royalty, and thrives better here, in the home of 

 its adoption, than among the hills and woods of its native Japan. 



The Lillium Chalcedonicum, or Scarlet Martagon, is one of the 

 most ancient of lilies, and was blooming in the land of Palestine, 

 long before the christian era — it is supposed to be the " lily of 

 the field" spoken of in the scriptures, and was indigenous to all the 

 plains of Central Palestine and in the valley of Esdrselon, situate 

 between the Jordan on the east and the Mediterranean on the west 



— and when this valley, in 1799, fell partially into disuse, and was 

 beaten to dust by the cavalry and artillery of Napoleon Bonaparte's 

 army; this lily and the myrtle, its associate companion, returned 

 again with the grass and verdure to bloom, as in days of yore. 



Napoleon viewed from the summit of the mountain of transfig- 

 uration, the fierce and terrible conflict of the French and Turkish 

 armies in the vale below — now as then the silvery waves of the 

 Jordan beats upon its shores — Mount Tabor, the mountain of 

 transfiguration, still stands in its historic grandeur — Napoleon, 

 Kleber and Murat, and the contending armies are long since in the 

 dust; but this lily, only a flower, remains to lay its beauty at the 

 foot of the cedars, on time-worn Lebanon. 



Among the collection of flowers to which nature has been par- 

 tial, and which merits more than a passing notice, is the Passifloras, 

 or Passion flowers — most of which are natives of South America 



— Passifloras Ccerula is foand in Peru and Brazil. 



Our first glance at this flower is like a revelation, and its beauty 

 is of the highest order, with its delicately shaped blossom, thread- 

 like colored stamens, and its numerous filaments, which tremble 

 with every breath of air. 



