MAECH. 25 



bear him from this world, and draw him to 

 God. 



One or two of the many species of the star 

 of Bethlehem are already in flower, especially 

 that handsome kind called by gardeners the 

 great flowery star, {Omithogalum Arahieuni) 

 which is a native of Egypt. The most frequent 

 garden flower of the genus is that termed com- 

 mon star of Bethlehem, ( Ornithogalum umhella- 

 tum,) which flowers about a month later, and 

 is found, though rarely, in the English mea- 

 dow. It is called by the French, La Belle 

 cVonze heures — Eleven o'clock Lady, as it opens 

 at that hour and closes at five. Its white 

 flowers grow but few in a cluster. A parti- 

 cular interest is attached to this plant, from its 

 having been considered by Linna;us, and 

 other writers, as the dove's dung of Scripture. 

 That the roots of this and other species are 

 cooked and eaten in many parts of the east, 

 there can be no doubt ; and this species is 

 common throughout Palestine, and in the 

 neighbourhood of Samaria. It is so generally 

 used for food, that it would naturally have 

 a high value in a time of scarcity, like that 

 described in Scriptm-e, when a small quantity 

 was sold in Samaria for five pieces of silver.* 

 Tliis flower grows wild in Caucasus, Taurus, 

 and Northern Africa ; and it is expressly 

 stated by Dioscorides, that its bulbs were 

 sometimes cooked with bread, and were also 



* 2 Kings vi. 25. 



