4 



sea ; and furnished Solomon in his wonderful song with 

 one of its choicest images. The Lily of the Old Testa- 

 ment differs from that of the New. The Hebrew word 

 "Shusan" (hence our name Susan) is thought to mean 

 the JVelumbium Speciosum, a species of the Lotus, sacred 

 and venerated by the Egyptian, Hindoo and Chinese. It 

 is a water plant and once common in the rivers of Egypt 

 and Syria. It is the most l^eautiful of all the Nymphsea, 

 examples of which we have in our native water lilies and 

 the famous Victoria Regia. The Lily of the New Testa- 

 ment, the Greek " Krina," is now understood to be the 

 Liliuni Chalcedonicum, a scarlet martagon, and not the 

 Crown Imperial, as formerly supposed, which latter is a 

 Persian plant, and never common in Palestine. The im- 

 ported bulbs of this Lily [once compared to the scarlet 

 robes of Solomon], can occasionally be purchased at the 

 seed stores in Boston. 



" Camphire with Spikenard." 

 •' My beloved, is unto me a duster of 

 Camphire in the vineyard's of Eugedi.'' 



The plant thus rendered Camphire, is believed to be 

 the Henna plant of Egypt and Palestine, the Lmvsonia 

 inermis, a most beautiful and deliciously fragrant shrub, 

 whose flowers have been used both in ancient and mod- 

 ern times as an article of luxury and adornment. It 

 belongs to the Loosestrife family, types of which we 

 have in our cultivated and native Ly thrums. 



The Balm of Gilead and that rendered Myrrh, are 

 the exuded sap from two species of Bahamodendron, i. e. 

 the B. Gileadense and B. Myrrha, belonging to the order 

 Amyriclacse, the plants of which abound in balsamic 

 juices and yield frankincense, olybanum, balsam copaiba 

 and other fragrant resins and gums. This order belongs 

 exclusively to tropical India, Africa and America. It 

 has some alliance to the Orange tribe, but differing 



