pfant Isore, l^cge^^ti/j ^^^ Isijrie/'. 423 



of Lupines was also thouf^ht to brigliten the mind and quicken the 

 imagination. It is related of Protogenes, a celebrated painter of 

 Rhodes, that during the seven years he was employed in painting 

 the hunting piece of lalysus, who was the accredited founder of 

 the State of Rhodes, he lived entirely upon Lupines and water, 

 with an idea that this aliment would give him greater flights of 



fancy. Virgil called the Lupine, Tristis Lupinus, the Sad Lupine, 



and this expression has given rise to much discussion — the only 

 tangible explanation being that when the Lupine pulse was eaten 

 without preparation to destroy the bitter, it was apt to contracft the 



muscles and give a sorrowful appearance to the countenance. 



The seeds are said to have been used by the ancients, in their plays 

 and comedies, mstead of pieces of money : hence the proverb, 



Nummus Lupinus, a piece of money of no value. The Bolognese 



have a tradition that during the flight of the Holy Family into 

 Egypt, the Lupine received the maledicftions of the Virgin Mary, 

 because, by the clatter and noise they made, certain plants of this 

 species drew the attention of Herod's minions to the spot where 

 the tired and exhausted travellers had made a brief halt. 



LYCHNIS. — The scarlet Lychnis Coronaria is, in the Catholic 

 Church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and the text in which 

 he is described as " a light to them which sit in darkness," being 

 taken in a literal sense, the flame-coloured flower was said to be 

 lighted up for his day, and was called Candelabrum ingens. This flower 

 is also called Rose-Campion, and, on the Continent, Cross of Jeru- 

 salem and Cross of Malta. By old writers it was known as Flower 

 or Campion of Constantinople, Flower of Bristow, and Nonsuch. 



MAGNOLIA. — The Magnolia grandijiora is one of those shrubs 

 the baneful emanations from which have procured for them an ill 

 name. It is a native of Carolina, and has large white blossoms of 

 powerful fragrance. When wafted to a distance upon the air, the 

 scent is delicious, but when inhaled in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of a group of Magnolias in flower, it becomes overpowering. 

 The Indians carefully avoid sleeping under a Magnolia in blossom, 

 and it is stated that so powerful is the perfume of the flower, that 

 a single blossom placed in a bedroom suffices to cause death in one 

 night. 



Maghet. — See Mayweed. 



MAHWAH. — The Bassia latifolia, or Mahwah, is esteemed a 

 sacred tree in India, and is, besides, interesting as being one of the 

 few plants whose flowers are used as food by the human race. 

 They are eaten raw by the poor of India, and are also employed 

 largely in the distillation of a spirit somewhat resembling Scotch 

 whiskey. A kind of flour is produced from them when dried, and 

 so valuable are they to the Indians, that the prosperity of some 

 parts of the country depends largely on their abundance. The 



