16 GARDEN FLOWERS. 



into it as in a stocking. Sir Thomas Lynch, 

 who was governor of Jamaica in the time of 

 Charles i., presented that monarch witli a 

 cravat made of this materiaL The shrub will 

 not grow in the Enghsh garden. 



The highly-poisonous berries of the mezereon 

 are given in Sweden to kill wild animals. The 

 women of Tahtary rub them on their cheeks, 

 and by causing an irritation, produce the tem- 

 porary efiect of rouge. Some writers think 

 that the scent of every species of daphne is 

 deleterious, and that if kept in rooms it will 

 cause head-ache and fainting. 



The two varieties of hepatica are among the 

 prettiest flowers of the winter months. Some 

 are of a deep rose pink, others of a brilliant 

 blue colour ; and they bloom very brightly 

 among their ivy-shaped leaves. This plant 

 was once called noble liver-wort, and herb 

 Trinity. The colour of the buds is very deep, 

 but the outside tint of the petals of the blue 

 variety is a jaale grey. " The hepatica," says 

 the author of the " Backwoods of Canada," 

 " is the first flower of the Canadian spring ; it 

 gladdens lis with its tints of azure, pink, and 

 white, as early as April, soon after the snows 

 have melted from the earth. The Canadians 

 call it snow-flower, from its coming so soon 

 after the snow disappears. We see its grey 

 flowers in the open clearings, and the deep 

 recesses of the forest : its leaves are also an 

 enduring ornament through the open months 

 of the year : you see them on every grassy 



