256 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Maroh 21, 1872. 



the roots, place it ou the top of the soil, aud fill in so that the 

 plant is raised above the i-im of the pot, like Orchids. A 

 large plant I raise as much as 3 or 4 inches above the rim. 

 When the soil has been packed around the roots, and the top 

 of the pot made as near an oval as jjossible, I lightly water 

 the top of the soil with a line rose, so that I can then press it 

 easily to the required shape. After this I take a little sphag- 

 num moss and place a tluck layer all over the surface, then 

 water it a Uttle, and press it closely aud evenly all over, so that 

 the plant presents a neat appearance. After this place it in a 

 house wher-s the heat ranges from C0° to 70°, frequently syringe 

 and water it, aud in duo time, if all go well, it produces 

 fresh leaves, from the axil of each of which a brilliant and 

 beautiful- coloured flower is produced. — T. B. 



EEVIEW. 



The yutural History of the Bible, heimj u Berieu- of the Phijxica! 



Geography, Geology, and Meteorology of the Hnhj Land, with 



a Description of every Animal and Plant Mentioned in Holy 



Scripture. By H. B. Tristram, M.A., &o. Second Edition. 



London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 



Many years ago we endeavoured to coUect infoi-mation more 

 satisfactoiy than could be found in one easUy accessible volume 

 relative to the plants, fruits, and flowers mentioned in the 

 Old and New Testaments. Calmet, Celsius, Corquius, Hiller, 

 Lemnius, Newton, Scheuchzer, and Ursinus are the alpha- 

 betical list of author.":, still in our desk, which we then con- 

 sulted, and finally reluctantly abandoned our reseai'ch. The 

 reason for the abandonment is told in one sentence inscribed 

 on the bundle of relative MS., " It wo'n't do ; no one but a 

 botanist who has resided in Palestine can give reliable inform- 

 ation." Dr. Tristram's volume contains such " reliable in- 

 formation " on every branch of the natural history of the 

 Bible, for, as the preface tells — ■ 



" The main object of the present volume has been to illustrate, 

 not technically, but popularly, every allusion to natural history 

 in the Holy Scripture, by the actual condition of the counti-y, 

 and by the charactei' of its existing products, zoological and 

 botanical. 



" For this special purpose, the wi-iter spent nearly a year in 

 the Holy Land in 18GS— 1, accompanied by botanical aud zoo- 

 logical collectors, Mr. B. T. Lowne, M.E.C.S., aud Mr. Edward 

 Bartlett, of the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, and 

 made extensive collections in every branch of natm'al liistory." 



We will confine oui' extract here to the Lily of the New 

 Testament, premising only that we believe it to be a totally 

 different flower from the Lily of the Old Testament. The 

 latter is named in the Hebrew Shiislinn ; and when residing 

 in India we noted that a species of Lily very much resembling 

 the Lilium spectabile is there called Soosan. Its flowers are 

 crimson, and in this and other characters justifying the similes 

 in the Song of Solomon. 



In the New Testament the Greek word hrinon, in our version 

 translated LUy, is certainly not the Lilium spectabile, for it is 

 not a native of the Holy Land. The following extract ou the 

 subject is a fail' specimen of Dr. Tristram's very satisfactory 

 work. 



" There has been much discussion as to what particular flower, 

 if any, is designated by these names. The Arabs have the same 

 word ' Susan,' which I have found the peasantry apply to any 

 brilliant-coloured flower at all resembhnga Lily, as to th^ Tulip, 

 Anemone, Kanunciilus. We may fau'ly infer fi-om our Lord's 

 allusion that this Lily was abimdant near the Plain of Genne- 

 saret, where the sermon on the Mount was deUvered, and that 

 it was brilUantly coloured, for it surpassed the robes of Solomon 

 in glory. That it was red wo judge from the compaa-ison with 

 the lips of the Beloved. Rapid growth seems to be implied by 

 the expression iu Hosea ; and in the Song of Solomon it is spoken 

 of as flourishing in valleys, as springing up among the thorny 

 shi-ubs, as growing in the plains where the gazelles (roes) 

 pasture, and as cultivated in gardens. Now, though many 

 plants of the Lily tribe flom-ish in Palestine, none of them give 

 a predominant character to the flora. They are generally few 

 and far between. The White Lily we do not know as a native. 

 The only true Lily I have noticed is Lilium chalcedonicum, the 

 red Turk's-cap Lily of our gardens, and it is not common. 



"There are, however, many other plants which would in 

 popular language be called ' LiUes.' The Lises are many in 

 species, and some of them of wondrous beauty. Pre-eminent is 

 one which grows in Tabor, through GaUlee, aud in the marshes 

 of the Huleh, and which has been mentioned in glowing terms 

 by Dr. Thomson. The species is undetermined, but the blossom 

 is dark purple aud white, and therefore does not meet the re- 

 quirement* of the Lily. There are many other species of Iris, 



among them the little Iris caucasicum, in the bare highlands 

 of the south; Iris Sisyrinchium, and four or five others, in 

 Galilee. The beautiful Gladiolus byzautinus, of many shades of 

 purple and dark red, is very abundant in the corn fields and 

 Olive yards throughout the whole country. The Narcissus is 

 not common, though at least one species (N. Tazetta) is found, 

 and on the tops of the niouutaius the lovely blue IxoHriou mon- 

 tauum. The Asphodels are vei-y abundant on all the plains, 

 but they have no beauty by which to claim a place amoug the 

 LiUes. There are also many Squills — Scilla autumnalis, and 

 others ; the Grape Hyacinth (Muscari racemosum), and another 

 species ; some beautiful Fi-itillaries (FritiDaria persica) on the 

 plains, aud another (new ?) species among the snows of Hermou 

 and Lebanon. The Star of Bethlehem has beeu already men- 

 tioned; but none of these can claim to be the Shushan. The 

 Tulip is more i)robable than any which have been named, from 

 its locaUty, colour, and abundance. The nrevailiug species is 

 Tuhpa Gesneriana, of a brilliant red, which grows profusely 

 scattered over many parts of the country, both on the plain cf 

 Gennesaret and on the hillsides, pushiTig forth fi-om crevicea 

 among the stones. Yet none of these bulbs give a general hue 

 to the ground cai-jiet. 



" The tnie floral glories of Palestine are the Pheasant's Eye, 

 tlie Ranunculus, and the Anemone, but especially the latter. 

 The Anemone coronaria, well known in our gardens, of various 

 colours, lilac, white, and red, but most generally a brilliant 

 scarlet, is the flower which, as the most gorgeously painted, the 

 most conspicuous in spring, and the most universally spread of 

 all the floral treasures of the Holy Land, I should feel inclined 

 to fix on as ' the Lily of the field ' of our Lord's discourse. It is 

 foimd everywhere, on all soils, aud iu all situations. It covers 

 the Mount of Olives, it carpets all the plains, nowhere does it 

 attain a more luxurious growth than by the shores of the Lake 

 of Galilee. In the OUve yards of Ephraim, on the bare hills of 

 Nazareth ahke, there is no part of the country where it doss 

 not shine. Certainly if, in the wondrous richness of bloom 

 which characterises the land of Israel iu spring, any one plant 

 can claim pre-eminence, it is the Anemone, the most natural 

 flower for our Lord to pluck and seize upon as an illustration, 

 whether walking in the fields, or sitting on the hillside. The 

 -Anemone also meets eveiw requirement of the allusions in 

 Canticles, and is one of the flowers called Susan by the Ar-abs." 



Dr. Tristram's volume, like all the publications of the Society, 

 is well printed on excellent paper, and is almost profitless 

 cheap. We again commend the Society to our readers for 

 theh' support. 



MAIDSTONE CEMETERY. 

 AsiOKGST the many forms which the taste of the last few 

 years has taken, that of embellishing public places, and odd 

 corners too, with trees, shrubs, aud flowers is not the least im- 

 portant. Not content with increasing the number of such in 

 the parks aud public gardens of large towns, we occasionally 

 find a piece of waste land over which stray donkeys and 

 gipsies held undisputed eway for many years, suddenly 



