THE ASSOCIATIONS OF FLOWERS 



A LARGE book full of poetry and curious learn- 

 ing might be written about the associations of 

 flowers; and there are few of us, at least among those 

 who care much for flowers, who can think of them 

 apart from their associations. In this respect, as we 

 remarked lately, they are like words. Some are de- 

 graded by their associations and others exalted. Some 

 are connected with history and the poetry of the past, 

 others only with bad fashions and foolish pretensions 

 of the present. Compare, for instance, the associa- 

 tions of Iris florentina, the true Flower de luce, with 

 those of the ordinary yellow Calceolaria. The Iris 

 is certainly more beautiful than the Calceolaria. 

 But it is also the Lily of France. It has been embroi- 

 dered upon banners, and painted upon coats of arms. 

 It has led men into many victories, and now it is the 

 symbol of a lost cause. But the poor Calceolaria is 

 merely the symbol of a discredited fashion in gar- 

 dening. We can scarcely see it without thinking of 

 its complementary yet discordant associates, Gera- 

 niums and Lobelias, just as we cannot see the words 

 transpire or phenomenal, even when they are rightly 

 used, without thinking of the manner in which they 



have been misused by bad writers. The associations 



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