CENTAUEY. 



Erythraa Centaurium. Nat. Ord., 

 Gcntianncea;. 



EW of our wild flowers make a 

 gayer appearance in proportion 

 to their size than the centaury, 

 as its slender stems are crowned 

 by a mass of buds and starry 

 blossoms, that, by the beauty of 

 their colour and the grace of 

 their form, assert themselves 

 conspicuously amidst the sur- 

 rounding verdure. The centaury 

 should be searched for in dry 

 pasturage, in sandy and barren 

 fields, on heaths, and more rarely 

 in the open spaces, in woods. 

 It is an annual, and flowers 

 from the latter part of June, 

 through July and August, and 

 often well into September ; and it is commonly dis- 

 tributed throughout Britain, where the conditions are 

 favourable to its growth. It is a distinguished adherent 

 to the good old principle of " early to bed and early to 

 rise," and proves its efficacy as far as healthiness is con- 

 cerned ; for its early retirement for the day (generally 

 about three o'clock in the afternoon) by no means impairs 

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