THE BLUE BOTTLE. ^(M 



THE BLUE BOTTLE {Ceiitaiirea Cyanus). — Delicacy. 



This species of the Centaurea is so ornamental, its flower 

 being- of the intense blue of a cloudless sky, that it is often 

 introduced into the garden. Under cultivation the flowers 

 become larger, and the colour varies. It is one of the prettiest 

 of Flora's gems among ripening grain. Its specific name 

 Cyanus immortalizes a youth, whose time was spent in making 

 wreaths of such flowers as were in bloom, through his great 

 love for them. This flower he specially admired, and his 

 chief ambition was to clothe himself in garments of the same 

 celestial hue. Being found dead, lying amid Blue Bottles 

 which he had collected in the field. Flora transformed him 

 into the Centaurea Cyanus, as a graceful acknowledgment oi 

 his veneration for her. It has been, therefore, made the 

 emblem of that delicacy which marks the devotion of an 

 inferior, feeding upon hope, the realization of which it does 

 not look for. 



THE BLADDER-NUT {Staphy lea pinnata).—YKVs 0\.0\5^ 



Amusement. 



A SHRUB of some pretension to beauty, and therefore 

 found in our garden groves. The leaves are pinnate, which 

 is a pleasing form, and render it graceful. The fruit grows 

 in a bunch, as its generic name indicates. The nuts are 

 jjv very curious, and hang on the tree for a long time. These 



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