FLOWERS. 45 



ing heat, than the flower thereof falleth, and the grace 

 of the fashion of it perisheth." 



The common sweet potato is a species of Convol- 

 vulus, and was originally brought from South Ame- 

 rica. Its blossoms are bright purple, but are so 

 hidden beneath the leaves, as to attract but little 

 attention. 



Most varieties of Convolvulus, or Ipomsea, are an- 

 nuals, and are grown from seed, but there are some 

 whose roots are perennial, and in their native climates 

 they are constantly clothed with verdure. One of 

 these, which, in this latitude, requires the protection 

 of the green-house during the winter, extends its 

 branches to a great length, sometimes forty feet in 

 one season, and over four hundred flowers have been 

 counted at one time upon a single vine, each flower 

 being four inches in diameter. 



But foremost among the flowers of the garden 

 stands the rose, a general favorite on account of its 

 soft and delicate colorings, and its delightful fragrance. 



The rose was undoubtedly well known, and its 

 qualities appreciated, at a very early period. In the 

 Scriptures, it is alluded to, where the idea of great 

 beauty and excellence is intended to be conveyed. 

 Solomon, in Canticles, speaks of the " Rose of Sha- 

 ron;" and the prophet Isaiah, in ch. xxxv. 1, thus 

 makes use of it in a beautiful comparison : " The 

 wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for 

 them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the 

 Jose." 



We are greatly indebted to cultivation for the per- 



