BENEDICT TIDE. 79 



MARCH 19. St. Joseph. 

 St. Alemund, martyr, a.d. 819. 



Quinquatria Minervae. — Julian Cal. 



Ohs, St. Joseph the spouse of the Blessed Virgin was descended 

 from King David and from the most illustrious of the antient 

 patriarchs ; but his true glory, says Butler, consisted in his humility 

 and virtue, see Butler's Lives, vol. iii. p. 209. 



St. Alemund was the son of Eldred and brother of Osred king of 

 the Northumbrians. He is said to have been slain by the Danes in 

 the year 819. 



Yellow Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum luteum fl. 



This little plant shewing its yellow stars about this time has been 

 called St. Joseph's Flower. It is found wild at Sheepmeadow near 

 Bungay in Suffolk, in woods about Oxford, and in Westmoreland. 

 It is perennial, and continues to blow throutjh April. It is figured 

 in English Botany, vol. i. fab, 21 ; and described in Smith's English 

 Flora, vol. ii. p. 142. The Scilla verna often flowers about the 

 same time, and the Scilla bifolia precedes it a few days. 



Towards Ladytide the signs of the spring become more manifest : 

 the trees bud, the leaves of numerous vernal plants appear above 

 ground, some early trees blossom, willows flower, birds sing, and 

 soma of those that are migratory begin to arrive. These circum- 

 stances, together with a lengthened daylight and often warmer air, 

 indicate the approach of the true vernal season, which begins about 

 what was Lady Day in the Old Style, April 6, when a more de- 

 cided appearance of spring and a greater abundance of flowers will 

 take place, and when Primroses and Violets, that now flower less 

 abundant, will cover every bank and brae ; while Pileworts and 

 Dandelions bespangle the fields against the coming of the Swallow, 

 and the Nightingale, and other birds of passage. 



