lO ALLIUM PALMERL PALMERS ONION. 



the largest orders in the vegetable kingdom. It is divided into 

 numerous subdivisions besides the two named, but the ScillcB to 

 which the Allmm belongs constitute one of the largest divisions, 

 and though they have few, if any, that can compare in gorgeous 

 beauty with the Tnlipcc or true Lilies, they have a peculiar beauty 

 of their own, which gives them an interest by no means inferior 

 in many respects to that of their gayer neighbors. 



Many of the Alliiuns are only known for their culinary uses. 

 This is the case with the onion, leek, shallot, and similar plants, 

 all belonging to this genus ; but many of them are very orna- 

 mental, and are much sought for by cultivators expressly for 

 their beauty. Some of them have been known from great 

 antiquity, and the name is found both in Virgil and Pliny, 



Milne, who wrote soon after the time of Linnaeus, tells us that 

 the name Allimn, as used by these old Roman writers, was bor- 

 rowed by them from the Greek ''alio, to shun or to avoid, from 

 its disagreeable smell which is generally avoided;" but modern 

 writers follow Theis, who says it is "derived from the Celdc all, 

 which signifies acrid or burning," as some of the roots are. 



As is the case with so many of the plants known to the an- 

 cients, one of the species, Allium Moly, gained an entrance into 

 the imaginative poetry of the times. This Moly was said to 

 have been an Arcadian of obscure birth, but a veritable natural 

 genius, and especially gifted with the power to cure people of 

 witchcraft. Mercury found him out, and set much store by his 

 knowledge. He cured immense numbers, and finally dying 

 mourned by the people, at their urgent request Mercury turned 

 him into this flower, so that in this condition at least he might 

 live as long as the world endured. Botanically the name is 

 credited to Linnaeus as adopted from Tournefort, who preceded 

 him in authoritative botanical literature ; but the name in con- 

 nection with these plants was in use by Bauhin a hundred years 

 before, and probably by others still prior to his time. The num- 

 ber of species, large as it is, is continually being increased, and 

 the present is one of the most recent discoveries. It was named 



