NATIVE WILD FLOWERS 



was the flower to which the name was first given, from its 

 ivory whiteness and the exquisite polish of its petals. 

 However that may be, the name lily is ever associated 

 in our minds with grace and purity, and reminds us of 

 the Saviour of men, who spake of the lilies of the field, 

 how they grew and flourished beneath the care of Him who 

 clothed them in robes of beauty more gorgeous than the 

 kingly garments of Royal Solomon. 



Sir James Smith, one of the most celebrated of English 

 botanists, suggests that the flower alluded to by our Lord 

 may have been Amaryllis lutea, or the Golden Lily of 

 Palestine, the bright yellow blossoms of which abound in 

 the fields of Judaea and at that moment probably caught 

 His eye, their glowing color aptly illustrating the subject 

 on which He was about to speak. 



The Lily family has a wide geographical range, being 

 found in some form in every clime. There are lilies that 

 bloom within the cold influence of the Frigid Zone, as well 

 as the more brilliant species that glow beneath the blazing 

 suns of the equator in Africa and southern Asia. 



Dr. Richardson mentions, in his list of Arctic plants, 

 Lilium Philadelphicum, our own gorgeous Orange (or rather 

 scarlet-spotted) Lily. He remarks that it is called by the 

 Esquimaux " Mouse-root," from the fact that it is much 

 sought after by the field-mice, which feed upon the root. 

 The porcupine also digs for it in the sandy soil in which it 

 delights to grow. 



In Kamschatka the Lilium pomponium is used by the 

 natives as an article of food, and in Muscovy the white 

 Narcissus is roasted as a substitute for bread. 



The healing qualities of the large white Lily roots and 

 leaves, when applied in the form of a poultice to sores and 

 boils, are well known. Thus are beauty and usefulness, 

 united in this most attractive plant. 



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