THE POET'S DAFFODIL. 91 



the six segments dividing into two sets of three eacn, and 

 one set reHeeting- considerably from the plane of the annuhis. 

 Poetarniii has a crimson crown ; Slellarh has separated 

 segments lilvc the rays of a star, and VerbaneuHiH is a little 

 mite ahout the size of a sixpence, but with all the cha- 

 racters of i\". poefini.t fully displayed. The double variety 

 called X. poeficiis Jhire jjleiio, also known by the later 

 name of (:lii nlentpoides. (because it resembles a gardenia), is 

 beyond question one of the finest hardy plants in cultivati(Ui. 

 It is waxy-wdiite, with delicate stains of yellow, and may 

 be likened to a rose, but in respect of resemblances comes 

 nearest to the gardenia, both in its looks and its delicious 

 fragrance. To grow this well, a warm position should be 

 chosen on a rich, deep l)order, for if exposed to cold winds 

 or in a poor soil it will come to no goixl at all. 



Some remarkable hybrids of tjiis narciss are in cul- 

 tivation, bearing the collective designation of 'XarcixxiiH 

 Bnrljiihjei, in honour of Mr. F. ^\^ Burliidge, author of 

 a valuable treatise on "The Narcissus." These hybrids 

 have larger crowns than the true species, and some of them 

 are highly coloured, ranging from scarlet to pure vi'How, 

 the perianth segments being white as in tlie species. 



As we cannot often reach the beginnings of things 

 we must take the legends as they come to us, with their 

 surroundings of poetical fancy. But when we note the 

 close family likeness of a griuip of myths, as hero the 

 story of Narcissus, and elsewhere the story of Adonis, 

 and again that of Iris, tlie thought is forced upon us 

 that some simple key may be found to explain them all. 

 However, in these pages it will not Ije expected of us to 

 enter fully intri sucli matters. But we will, in a casual 

 way, make an observation to illustrate the apothegm 



