112 REMARKS ON THE FLOWERING STOCKS. 



is not, therefore, worth while to practise this method unless to pre- 

 serve some fine double flowers. These flowers love the sun ; but 

 care must be taken to supply in the evening the moisture which has 

 been exhausted during the day. It will be observed, too, as an inva- 

 riable rule, always to place a plant in the shade when newly potted, 

 and to let it remain there till rooted. 



There are other species of Stock, but these are the most desirable. 

 There is a Cheiranthus called the C. Quadrangulus, a native of 

 Siberia, which was introduced into the Paris garden by Jean Jacques 

 Rousseau. The flowers are sulphur- coloured and sweet. It is pro- 

 pagated by seeds, and thrives in the open air, but does not last many 

 years. 



Garcilasso speaks of them as worn in the hair : 



" Loosely flow her golden locks ; 

 If she stays them 'tis with jasmines, 

 Chains them, 'tis with pinks and stocks." 



In this country, ladies seldom adorn themselves with natural 

 flowers, and yet we have many that would bloom through an evening 

 very well. The introduction of such a fashion might be an important 

 advantage to the fair sex : should the rooms be very warm, and likely 

 to injure the beauty of their floral ornaments, and cause them to 

 droop prematurely, they would be compelled, like Cinderella in her 

 fairy dress, to retire at a seasonable hour, before such a catastrophe 

 should take place ; which would be of no small benefit to their health 

 and beauty. In the East, ladies commonly wear natural flowers. 

 Thunberg speaks upon the subject with a gallantry quite enthu- 

 siastic : 



" The ladies in Batavia," says he, " wear neither caps nor hats; 

 but tie up their hair (which is only anointed with oil, and has no 

 powder in it) in a large knot on the crown of their heads, and adorn 

 it with jewels, and wreaths of odoriferous flowers. In the evenings, 

 when the ladies pay visits to each other, they are decorated in a 

 particular manner about the head with a wreath of flowers, of 

 the Nyctanthes Sambac, run upon a thread. These flowers are 

 brought every day fresh to town for sale. The smell of them is 

 inconceivably delightful, like that of orange and lemon flowers : the 

 whole house is filled with the fragrant scent, enhancing, if possible, 

 the charms of the ladies' company, and of the society of the fair 



