68 GAIIDEN FLOWERS. 



the SAveet essences witli -whicli Mary anointed 

 the dead body of our Lord and Redeemer. 



The root of our common wild valerian 

 ( Valeriana officinalis) possesses very great me- 

 dicinal power, and its odour is very strong, but 

 disagreeable. It is cultivated in Derbyshire 

 for medicinal purposes, but the root is prefer- 

 able in its wild state to that under cultivation. 



Some very pretty species of lobelia arc in 

 blossom in May; several of this genus are 

 among the handsomest of our garden flowers. 

 Some are lowly-looking, simple blossoms, 

 scarcely peeping from above their leaves; 

 others are tall and showy. A few of them are 

 blue ; but the greater number are of a bright 

 scarlet or pink colour, while some among their 

 number are of a full yellow. One of the most 

 common, and also of the most striking beauty, 

 is that called the cardinal flower, (^Lobelia car- 

 dinalis,) with its long slender leaves, and spike 

 of blossoms, so bright in hue as to have re- 

 minded the originator of its name, of the scarlet 

 cloth of Rome ; while its shape is not altogether 

 dissimilar to the hat of the Romish ecclesiastic. 

 It is a native of Virginia, and was described by 

 Parkinson, in his " Garden of Flowers," where 

 he calls it a " brave plant." The species 

 brought from Mexico, the fulgent lobelia, (Lo- 

 belia fulgens,) and that briUiant flower called 

 the splendid or shiny lobelia, (Lobelia splen- 

 dens,) with a tint outrivalling that of the 

 brightest popjay, and its foliage marked with 

 puri>le spots, is another Mexican species, and 



