LILY OF THE VALLEY SQUILL. 287 



in a part of the ancient forest of Selwood, now called Sowley 

 Wood, and the friendly people in the neighbourhood make 

 parties every year to go and gather them. These excursions 

 they call Lily 1?ics. I accompanied one of these rambles ; there 

 were plenty of Lilies, and their blossoms seemed more graceful, 

 and their fragrance more charming than in our garden speci- 

 mens. The woods about Dunkeld and Blairgowrie produce 

 abundance of this favourite flower. I agree wholly in the 

 opinion of the Scotch poet 



" Sweet flower o* the vailey wi' blossoms o' sna', 



And green leaves that turn the cauld blast frae their stems 

 Bright emblem of goodness, thy beauties I lo'e 



Aboon the king's coronet circled wi* gems. 

 There's nae tinsel abont thee to mak' thee mair bright ; 



Sweet Lily, thy loveliness a' is thine ain, 

 And thy bonnie bells dangling sae pure and sae light, 

 Proclaim thee the fairest o' Flora's bright train." 



The seed of the Lily of the Valley is a scarlet berry, and the 

 spikes of these almost vie with the flowers in beauty. 



In jS'orridge Wood, in the same district, I found the waxen 

 bells, tipped with green, of the common Solomon's Seal. The 

 plant grows two feet high, its broad leaves clasp the stem, and 

 are ranged alternately the whole length of it ; two or three 

 drooping flowers are placed at each axil. The whole plant has 

 a drooping form. It grows, also, in the woods about Looe, in 

 Cornwall. There is a species with angular stalks and large 

 solitary flowers, and another with narrow whorled leaves ; but 

 I have found no specimens of either. 



The Squill family is the next in succession ; they are pretty 

 plants, with blue or lilac blossoms arranged in a spike or 

 cluster. 



Beautiful specimens of the Vernal Squill (Scilla verna), were 

 sent to me from the Isle of Man, and it abounds on the coast 

 of Cornwall. The flowers are bright blue, in a full cluster, and 

 the numerous thread-shaped leaves rise all around the stem. 



The Autumnal Squill (S. autumnalis), has a more lilac hue, 

 and it is a stronger plant. These specimens are from Torquay ; 



