LILIACE.E. 129 



This plant, a native of the Ciipo of Good Hopo, is now thoronp:lily naturalizcrl in 

 India and liurma, and makes a valuable! hedfit- plant, where <;ardens rci|uirc protection 

 near roads fi-oni stray cattle. The insjjissated jnieo forms bitter aloes, the best coming 

 from Socotra, and the fibres of the ilesliy leaves, yield materials for the mamifaetare 

 of an excellent and beautiful lul)i-ic. 



IlEMKROCA I. IIDIEJE. 

 rerennial herbs with iuherom or Jibrous roots. 



Hemerocallis. 



*H. nisTicHA, I). Don (M.). 



*H. F0LVA, L. (M.). 



To this tribe belongs the vidnable fibre [ilant, rhorniium tt'iiar, which wiaild 

 probably thrive well in ]5unna, and is deserving attention for the sake of the excellent 

 iibre or flax which it yields. 



TrLirAciE.E. 



This tribe is chiefly remarkable for the bcanty of its flowers. 



The Order Liliaceoc is an extremely important one to man, as the tribe 

 Hiiacinthiniea: yields some of the most useful culinary herbs we possess, as the onion, 

 garlic, and leek. Aloinea are also valuable to man for their fibre and other 

 pui-poses, whilst the tribe Ttdlpacea: yields some of tlie handsomest and most jnizcd 

 denizens of his pleasure grounds, as tulips, lilies, and the Yucca, which in full bloom 

 forms such a glorious object in an Indian garden. The cultivation of the garlic 

 and onion, especially the former, is probably coeval with history, and their value 

 as a condiment to the somewhat insipid diet of the inhabitants of warm countries 

 can hardly be over-estimated. It is worth remembering that the onion and leek 

 were not formerly eaten by certain classes in Egypt, as we learn from Juvenal — 

 Porrnm ct coepo nefas violaro et frangero morsu. 

 sanetas gentcs quibus hajc nascuntur in hortis 

 Kumina!— &(^ AT. 9.' 

 At the present day onions are not eaten in India by Brahmins, the assigned 

 reason being their red colour causes them to resemble flesh. There can be little 

 doubt however that the true reason is the .same occult one, which caused them to 

 be originally avoided by certain classes in Egypt, though the cause has now died 

 out of the "knowledge of the men who nevertheless stdl observe the prohibition. 

 It has been suggested that the free consumption of onions rendered a man liable 

 to compromise the purity of the air, in the temples wherein he might sulisequently 

 worship ; but I think a more likely reason for the selection of this plant as a sacred 

 one may bo discovered in its globular head of seeds, which, in times when a vivid 

 imagery went hand in hand with the worship of the fecund powers of nature, might 

 have seemed a fit emblem of the great Solar Orb— the fiaiitful source of life on 

 earth — and have been set apart as lioly on that account. It recpiires perhaps an 

 effort now-a-days to n'alize the light "wherein to ns trivial ideas may have then 

 presented themselves; but a very little knowledge of the subject is required to prove 

 liow universal and deep-seated was the symbolism connected with religion, when 

 all religion was imbued with nature worship of either I'hallie or Solar complexion. 



ARALES. 

 Flouvrs hermaphrodite, or unisexual, arranged in a spadex or spike, with or 

 without a spathe, or sunk in pits of a minute scale-like frond. Perianth of distinct 



' 'Tis mort.il sin an onicm ffi devour; 

 Each clove of garlic i.s a iRavcnly power ! 

 Oh holy nations and sacred clods, 

 ■Where everv fniitt'ul garden teems with gods! 



