52 BOTANY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 



L. SONG OP THE HEXANDRIAN TRIBES. 



Fair blossoms o'er thy path we fling, 

 Narcissus, peerless flower of spring, 

 And the Vale Lily, lo, we bring, 



O Gallant Chief 



With Calcmus we strew the bower ; 

 But Bethlehem's Star shall be the flower 

 To guide us through the darkest hour, 



O Gallant Chief! 



With mystic rites we break the stem, 

 Now let its bright and silvery gem 

 Enrich thy silver diadem, 



O Gallant Chief! 



E. The Class Heptandria, or seven stamens, 

 is comparatively a small one, and the plants in 

 it afford rather imperfect specimens of the 

 class. The Horse Chesnut jEsculus, is here, 

 which comes to us from Mount Find us in Asia. 

 Its common name was derived from a custom 

 of the Turks, who ground the nuts of the tree 

 and mixed them with corn for their horses. It 

 gives the deepest and most solemn shade of any 

 tree which is known ; when in full blossom, such 

 are the elegance and beauty of its flowers, that 

 their contrast with the splendid green leaves 

 has caused the comparison of a mountain of 

 ivory and emeralds. The only other plant in 



