JIAY. 97 



drop fatness," and the " little hills and pastures 

 to rejoice on every side," how sweet are the 

 odours from the flower-bed, on which the 

 gentle pattering of the rain-drops has just 

 been heard! Now it comes breathing from the 

 hawthorn, or the lilac, or more powerfidly from 

 the honeysuckle, or the clustering flowers oi 

 the syringa, {Philadelphtis coronarius.) This 

 plant is often called mock orange, not only from 

 its blossoms, so similar to the orange-flower 

 which the EngHsh bride selects as the fitting 

 ornament to the wedding attire, but because its 

 odour, though far more powerful, resembles 

 that of this blossom. The leaves have both the 

 scent and flavour of the cucumber. Cowper 

 admired its flowers among others of this month. 



"Laburnum rich, 

 In streaming gold, syringa, ivory pure." 



This plant is of easy culture and very general, 

 but its native place of growth is imknown. It 

 has been found in Italy, apparently wild, in 

 some imcultured lands, but not so far from the 

 villa, with its luxuriant garden, as to enable the 

 botanist to pronounce it indigenous to the soil. 

 A different species has been discovered on the 

 Himalayan mountains, growing at the height of 

 six or seven hundred feet, and it is thought 

 very probable that our common syringa may 

 exist still farther to the north-west, and that it 

 may be one of those plants which, some centu- 

 ries since, were introduced from Persia, into the 

 gardens of Italy and the other countries of 

 southern Europe. 



