143 FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOWERS, 
These two charming plants are of about equal value for 
decorative purposes. Of the two the Calla is the easier 
to force. 
The Japanese cook and eat the bulbs of lilies, those of 
the Common White being much esteemed when served with 
white sauce. Tastes differ, as do sentiments; to us the 
eating of lily bulbs seems as foolish a proceeding as the 
eating of nightingale’s tongues or the dissolving of pearls 
in vinegar to make sauce for a leg of mutton. 
The place of the lily in literature would make a 
charming study for a lover of books, and the botanist might 
help sometimes to determine the meaning of delicate similes 
and comparisons. We cannot even touch the fringe of the 
subject here, but the thought has brought to our remem- 
brance the heart-moving story of the “ Lily Maid of 
Astolat,” whom Lancelot rudely slhghted— 
“The dead, 
Steer’d by the dumb, went upward with the flood— 
In her right hand the lily, in her left 
The letter—all her bright hair streaming down.” 
Elaine, 1149. 
