MISCELLANEOUS 4NTELLIGENCE. 69 



the Latin, " flos passionis," originally given to the plant hy the Spaniards, from 

 its supposed resemblance to the instruments of the Crucifixion of our Saviour. 

 When they first discovered America, and found a flower seeming to represent so 

 closely circurnstanees of so sacred a nature, they attached the most superstitious 

 ideas to it. I have read that, in old botanical works, very curious prints are to 

 to be met with, in which the flowers seem to he composed of the things them- 

 selves, being evidently portrayed from the exaggerated accounts of the first dis- 

 coverers, who saw in the five anthers, our Saviour's five wounds ; in the three 

 styles, the nails bv which he was fixed to the cross ; in the column which rises 

 from the base of the flower, the pillar to which he was bound. The resemblance 

 appeared to the Roman Catholics so strong, that the name of Passion Flower was 

 bestowed on it ; and it is now held in such veneration in South America, that the 

 Nuns train it with very reverential feelings round the windows of their little dor- 

 mitories." — I copied this out of a very nice little book for beginners in Botany, 

 by C. A. Halstead, which seems to me much the clearest and nicest work of the 

 sort I have ever seen, and I should recommend it to any beginner in the science. 

 If you think this worth inserting for the amusement of your readers, 



You will much oblige, 

 Dec. 30th, 1836. Kalmia. 



A List of Fiftv excellent kinds of Dahlias. — With this I send you a 

 list of fiftv superior Dahlias. I saw blooms of them at the various exhibitions 

 around London and in the country, during the last season. The plants may 

 not all be the best bloomers, as to quantity produced. I had not an opportuuity 

 of seeing some of them grow, but I can vouch for the superior form of the 

 blooms, which I saw at the first-rate exhibitions, all of which obtained many 

 prizes. I would furnish a list for the Cabinet, how many times I saw each sort 

 in the winning stands, but fear it be too lengthy an article. 



Marquis of Northampton, Elphinstone's Bristol Perfection 



Duke of Devonshire, Widnall's Middlesex Rival, Pamplin's 



Sir Edward Sugden Quill'd Perfection, Brown's 



Countess of Orkney Piltdown Rival, Mitchell's 



Ada, Gaines's Rival Sussex 



Mary> Dodds's . Countess of Jersey, Gaines's 



Roso Superba, Elphinstone's Elis 



Conqueror of Europe, do. Scarlet Perfection 



Paragon, Marsh's Miss Georgiana 



(inldfinder, Dray's Queen's Superba, Winner's 



Malibran, Kington's Queen of Tramps, Elphinstone's 



Mrs. Broadwood, Elphinstone's Lady Dartmouth, Widnall's 



Sulphurea Elegans, Jones's Penelope, Chubb's 



Rubv, Girling's New Scarlet Perfection, Holman's 



King Harold, Dray's Mrs. Wilkinson, Penny's 



Shakespear, Girling's Napoleon, Smith's 



IiOrd Lyndhurt, Forsyth's Countess of Sheffield, Mantel's 



Purple Perfection, Elphinstone's Lilac Perfection 



Warminster Rival, Squibh's St. Leonard's Rival, Stanford's 



Maid of Judah, Kington's Alexander the Great, do. 



Enterprize Victorious, Kington's 



Salter, Mitchell's . Paris, Widnall's 



Sir H. Fletcher Magnet, Kington's 



Champion, Wells's Ipswich Beauty 



Incomparable White Madonna, Stanford's 



In the above list will be found high-priced kinds, if all be offered for sale this 

 season, which I am not aware of, not having looked through the published lists. 

 To those persons who wish for superior kinds, at a lower cost, the catalogues 

 published give a pretty correct statement of sorts. What I saw were exhibited 

 at Bristol, Bath, Cheltenham, Vauxhall, Salt Hill, Cambridge, Twickenham, and 

 a few other minor exhibitions. 



Near London. Feb., 1887. AClerovman, J. . S. 



