in the evening, and expand with the morning's light. (See 

 " Structure of Plants," upon the effect of light upon leaves.) 



Whence does it happen that the plant, which well 

 We name the sensitive) should move and feel? 

 Whence know her leaves to answer her command, 

 And, with quick horror, fly the neighbouring hand? 



Prior. 



Naturalists have not explained the immediate cause of 

 the collapsing of the sensitive plant, when exposed to exter- 

 nal violence. Darwin asks, " May it not be owing to a numb- 

 ness, or paralysis, consequent to too violent irritation, like 

 the fainting of animals from pain or fatigue?" 



Weak with nice sense, the chaste Mimosa stands, 

 From each rude touch withdraws her timid hands; 

 Oft, as light clouds o'erpass the summer's glade, 

 Alarm'd she trembles at the moving shade, 

 And feels alive through all her tender form, 

 The whisper'd murmurs of the gathering storm; 

 Shuts her sweet eye-lids to approaching night, 

 And hails, with freshen'd charms, the rosy light. 



Darwin. 



There are many species of Mimosa some, tall trees, 

 others, humble plants: natives of the East and West In- 

 dies, kc. 



The Mimosa Pudica, common Sensitive Plant, is a na- 

 tive of South America: it is naturally shrubby; leaves pinnate, 

 or somewhat fingered; leaflets very numerous, oblong, rather 

 bristly; the flowers are pale purple, in round, axillary, stalked 

 tufts. 



MOCK ORANGE. 

 Philadelphus Coronarius. 



Philadelphia, the name of a shrub mentioned by Athe- 

 naeus, which it is impossible for us to ascertain. Caspar 

 Bauhin first applied it to our Syringa, or Mock Orange, with 

 which it remains, as the generic appellation. Linnaeus sup- 

 poses it was designed to commemorate Ptolemy Philadel- 

 phia, king of Egypt; but a more probable opinion seems to 

 be, that the plant of Athenaeus was of the twining or clasping 

 kind; and that the word, by a poetical fancy, was intended 

 to express its brotherly love for those near it. 



Philadelphus was a title, or surname, borne by several 

 ancient kings formed from the Gr. *.xo 5 , friend, lover, and 

 a^f^eos, brother; i. e. one who loves his brother, or brethren. 



The specific name Coronarius, L. that belongeth to, or 

 serveth to make crowns or garlands. 



The flowers of P. Coronarius are white, and something 

 like those of the orange; much larger, in dense, terminal, up- 

 right clusters, powerfully scented; leaves elliptical, recurved, 

 opposite, on short stalks, dark green, smooth, with broad 

 shallow teeth; their flavour, on the palate, very like the cu- 

 cumber. 



MOSS MUSCUS. 



.Mosses Musci. 

 Moss, E. Sax. meos; Welsh mwswg, from mws, that 



shoots up, and of a strong scent. Latin muscus; Greek 

 j"<r%;5 the two latter words signify moss and musk, both 

 from shooting out; the Greek word also signifies a young 

 animal, and a shoot or twig. French mousse, from which 

 comes mousseline, muslin, from its softness or resemblance 

 to muslin. Lunier says it is from Mossoul, a city of Meso- 

 potamia. Webster. 



Musci, origin unknown. The word occurs often in the 

 best Latin writers. Ambrosinus deduces it from a Greek 

 word, M3<r%o s a young calf, or lamb, as well as the young 

 shoot or tendril of a plant, which is not an improbable ety- 

 mology, and is adopted by Ray. 



The older botanists have still more difficulty in defining 

 the nature of a Moss, than in the derivation of its name. 



.Rees' Cyclopedia. 



Mosses are interesting little evergreens, with distinct 

 leaves, and frequently as distinct a stem. They are found 

 in the hottest, as well as the coldest climates, and have the 

 singular property of reviving vith moisture, however much 

 dried up. 



Ray tells us, that the most perfect kinds are furnished 

 with organs containing a pulpy matter, that becomes dry in 

 ripening; and, when arrived at maturity, flies off in the form 

 of an extremely subtile powder, serving for the propagation 

 of the plant. Modern botanists, with the aid of magnifying 

 glasses, have thought that they have discovered both stamens 

 and pistils, enclosed in a roundish body that grows out of the 

 bottom of the leaves; and which, when the seed ripens, falls 

 off. 



Mosses are fond of moisture, shade, and retirement: en- 

 livening the dark recesses of solitude by the vivid green of 

 their diminutive foliage. 



The mossy fountains, and the sylvan shades 



Delight no more. Pope 



MYRTLE. 



Myrtus. 



Myrtus, so named from Myrsine, or Myrene, a Grecian 

 female and priestess, in the Temple of Venus. She was a 

 great favourite of Minerva; and Venus, as a proof of her own 

 regard, changed her into the Myrtle; which, at the same time, 

 she decreed should be green and odoriferous throughout the 

 year. 



Lat. Myrtus', Gr. ^ufTo;. 



In the calendar of Julius Caesar, we find the month of 

 April under the protection of the goddess Venus: and the 

 first day of the month, dedicated to Venus, with flowers and 

 Myrtles. 



A myrtle crown was worn by the general to whom an 

 oration was decreed; the reason of which, according to Plu- 

 tarch, in his life of Marcellus, was, that, as an oration was de- 

 creed for some remarkable success, obtained by treaty, or 

 without much bloodshed, it was proper that the general, at 

 his public appearance, should be crowned with a tree sacred 

 to Venus; who, of all the deities, was supposed to be most 

 averse to the horrors of war. 



