MAY. 7C 



This closing of the flower during the rain, jis 

 Avell as its habit of folding up its petals early in 

 the afternoon, ■while it does not open them till 

 after nine in the niorninfr, "was remarked not 

 only by Linnfeus, but had rendered the flower 

 a theme of various comparisons to the older 

 poets. Thus Herrick, alluding to the approach 

 of evening, says: — 



"No Tnariffolds j-et closed are. 

 No shadows yet appear; 

 Nor doth the early shepherd's star 

 Sliine like a spangle here." ^ 



The marigolds received their name on ac- 

 count of their flowering during the calends of 

 each juonth. The common marigold, indeed, 

 is in bloom in every season, except when snow 

 covers the ground, and is often among the 

 brightest flowers of the garden in December and 

 January. 



The Cape marigolds are natives of that part 

 of Africa after which they are named. The 

 small Cape marigold, {Calendula pluvialis,) 

 which is the commonest of them, was called the 

 rainy marigold, by Linnaeus, because it is always 

 closed, not only during rain, but under a cloudy 

 sky. The rays of this flower are white inside, 

 and of a dark purple on the outer surface. It 

 blooms from June till August. 



The French term the marigold sonci, (care,) 

 but in the reign of Henry vm. it was called 

 souvenir, and ladies wore wreaths of these 

 flowers, intermixed with the pansy, whose name. 



