MARCH. 31 



rence during the prevalence of the tiilipomania, 

 shows the value which was attached to their 

 bulbs at that time. A merchant having given 

 a herring to a sailor, who had delivered some 

 goods, left him to his breakfast. The man 

 seeing some tuHp-roots lying near him, mis- 

 took them for onions, and ate a part of one of 

 them with his fish. The narrator observes, 

 that this single root was so valuable, that the 

 sailor's meal cost the merchant more money 

 than if he had entertained a prince. 



The tulip is much admired in the east, and 

 as it grows wild in Palestine, it is one of the 

 flowers which have been considered as the 

 " lihes of the field" of Scriptui'e. The Turks, 

 as well as the Persians, hold annually a feast 

 of roses ; and the former people have also a 

 yearly festival of tuhps, when the grand 

 seignior exhibits a display of oriental magnifi- 

 cence. 



And now the large drooping bells of the 

 crown imperial {Fritillaria imperialis) hang 

 in garlands imder the coronal of leaves which 

 surmounts the stem. It was formerly called 

 Persian hly, as it is a native of Persia. Its 

 sweet honey is said to be poisonoiis to bees. 

 The fight purple bells, too, of the early bloom- 

 ing Penstemon (^Penstenion camjyanulata) are 

 coming into flower. This species is a native 

 of Mexico, and all the kinds of this plant have 

 reached us from the various parts of America, 

 where they are common flowers. 



The bright blue flowers of the periwinkle 



