OF FLOWERS. 291 



t A.* 



nus of diminutive shrubs from Africa, which are general 

 favorites, from their easy culture, and the profusion of lit- 

 tie bell-shaped flowers which they put forth in winter 

 HELIOTROPE. / am devoted to one object. The name sig- 

 nifies, " to turn towards the sun," and it is said always to 

 keep its disk towards that luminary. Of it a poet says, 



" Theje is a flower whose modest eye 

 Is turned, with looks of light and love ; 



Who breathes her softest, sweetest sigh, 

 Whene'er the sun is bright above." 



HOLLY. Come near me if you dare. Even the leaves of this 

 hardy shrub are armed with thorns. 



HOLLYHOCK. You are ambitious of show. It was brought 

 from Syria by the Crusaders, and is one of the most ele- 

 vated, and certainly when the several varieties are planted 

 together, the most showy of all our annuals. 



HOUSTONIA. Unaspiring beauty often lasts the longest. The 

 species cerulea, a little blue flower only two inches high, 

 covers some of our meadows, and continues to bloom from 

 April to November. 



HYACINTH. Love of play may decide your fate. The name 

 is that of a youth who loved play, and who was killed dur- 

 ing a game, by the quoit of Appollo. The god, it is said, 

 to embalm his memory, turned him into the plant in ques- 

 tion. 



HYDRANGEA. Your character is somewhat contingent. The 

 red color of this flower is changed to blue, by watering it 

 with a weak solution of alum. 



ICE PLANT. Your very looks freeze me. It is a variety of 

 Mesernbryanthemum, which is covered with a mucilage, re- 

 sembling ice. 



IPOM^EA. / attach myself to you. The Morning Glory can- 

 not climb without some attachment. 



IRIS. / come with a pleasant message. The flower de luce 

 of our meadows is a species. The fair, fabled Iris, was 

 a messenger of the gods, who carried only good news. 



IVY. Nothing can part us. The ivy, (Hedera,) is a vine 

 which clings with great tenacity to its support. 



JASMINE. Thy docile grace has won my heart. It is a vine 



