170 A Little Maryland Garden 
what country produced them. They seem, 
with their thick petals and heavy perfume, 
to be a product of the tropics, suggesting 
the rich abundance of the flora under the 
equator. Turning to a history of plants, 
I find that the tuberose was brought by a 
Catholic Father from the East Indies as far 
back as 1530, and that old Parkinson, whose 
mame is connected with so many of the 
choicest flowers, describes it at length under 
the name of ‘‘the Greater Indian knobbed 
Jacinth,’’ and speaks of it as having a 
“‘very sweet scent, or rather strong and 
headee.”’ The heat and moisture of the past 
summer have brought the tuberoses to per- 
fection. It is a pity that so many people 
dislike them, considering them flowers of the 
dead; for the ‘‘strong and headee’”’ perfume 
is delicious, and the flowers very beautiful. 
They are worth growing for their delightful 
fragrance in the garden; and the stately 
stalks, ‘‘garnished,’’ as Parkinson says, ‘‘ with 
many faire, white flowers,’’ have a distinc- 
tion among the other flowers of the border. 
