MEADOW SWEET. 



This plant was supposed to be indigenous in the fields of 

 Colchis, and was mythically alleged to have sprung from 

 some drops of the fluid which Medea prepared to restore the 

 aged ^son to youth. This fabulous origin has led to the 

 popular belief that Meadow Saffron is a preservative against 

 all kinds of sickness. The Swiss attach it to the neck of 

 their infants, as a charm against every evil. 



Meadow Saffron possesses great attractions for the scientific 

 naturalist in its singular botanical phenomena. Its corolla, 

 of which there are six divisions, of a pale violet purple, has 

 neither leaves nor stem. A long tube, nearly as white as 

 ivory, which is nothing but the prolongation of the flower, is 

 its only support. ■ At the bottom of this tube nature has 

 deposited the seed, which ripens only in the following Spring. 

 Its inclosing sheath, buried deep under the grass, braves the 

 perils of winter : and in the beautiful days of the young year, 

 this species of cradle rises up from the soil, and submits 

 itself to the sun's rays, surrounded by a tuft of large green 

 leaves. Thus this plant, reversing the common effect of the 

 seasons, mingles its fruit with the flowers of Spring, and its 

 flowers with the fruits of Autumn. If ever Melancholy 

 weaves a garland of its pale bluish flowers, it dedicates it 

 to happy days which have fled never more to return. 



MEADOW SWEET [Spircea Ulmaria). — UsELESSNESS. 



This herbaceous plant, which is also called in France 

 the Queen of the Meadows, has been designated a useless 

 beauty, because the chemist and the physician have failed to 



137 



