pPant "bore, "begent)/, cmcl bijric/. 339 



Flag. — See Acorus and Iris. 



FLAME TREE.— The Nuytsia flovihnnda, called the Flame 

 or Fire-tree, is a native of West Australia, This tree is most 

 remarkable in many respecOis: it belongs to the same Natural 

 Order as the Mistletoe — an order numerous in species, most of 

 those inhabiting warm countries having brilliantly-coloured flowers, 

 and, with two exceptions, stri(ftly parasitical on the branches of 

 other trees. One of these exceptions is the Flame-tree; but 

 although Nuytsia floribunda is terrestrial, and has all the aspecft of 

 an independent tree, it is thought to be parasitical on the roots of 

 some neighbouring tree or shrub, because all attempts to rear seed- 

 lings have proved unsuccessful. Its trunk is soft, like pith, yet it 

 has a massive apj)earance. Its gorgeous fier)' flowers are more 

 brilliant than flames, for they are undimmed by smoke. 



FLAX. — There are certain plants which, having been culti- 

 vated from time immemorial, are not now to be found in a wild 

 state, and have no particular history. The common Flax (Linum 

 nsitatissimnm) has been thought to be one of these. Flax is mentioned 

 both in Genesis and Exorlus : at least Joseph was clothed in linen, 

 and the Flax was blighted in the fields. But modern research has 

 shown that the Flax of the ancients was Linmn angustifolium, the nar- 

 row-leaved Flax ; and the same fact has been developed in regard 



to the Flax of the Lake-dwellers in Switzerland. The fine linen 



of Egypt is frequently referred to in Scripture, and specimens of 

 this fabric are to be seen in the linen in which the Egyptian 

 mummies are enfolded. That Flax was also grown in ancient 

 times in Palestine, may be inferred from the fact that Rahab hid 



the Hebrew spies among the Flax spread on her roof. In the 



mythology of the North, Flax is supposed to be under the protec- 

 tion of the goddess Hulda, but the plant's blue blossom is more espe- 

 cially the flower of Bertha, whose blue eyes shine in its calyx, and 



whose distaff is filled by its fibres. Indian mysticism likens the 



grey dawn and the brightening daybreak to luminous linen and its 

 weavers. The celestial bride, Aurora, weaves the nuptial garment 



— the robe of the celestial bridegroom, the Sun. The gods 



attire themselves in luminous robes — white or red, silver or gold. 

 Earthly priests have adopted the white robe in India, Egypt, 

 Asia Minor, Rome, and in all Christian countries. The offspring 

 of the Flax, according to a tradition, represent the rays of the Sun, 

 and clothe the great luminary. In Sicily, to cure headache pro- 

 duced by exposure to the Sun, they burn, with certain incantations, 

 flaxen tow in a glass, from which they have poured out the water it 

 contained : they then place the glass on a white plate, and the plate 

 on the head of the patient : they contend that by this means they 

 extract from his head, and impart to the Flax, all the virtue of the 



Sun. Flax is the symbol of life and of prolific vegetation : on this 



account, in Germany, when an infant thrives but badly, or does 



z — 2 



