Halm--MMoalunceca, 
Moluceella levis. Narurar Orver: Labiate — Mint Family. 
BE OLUCCA BALM, or Shell Flower, is a native of the 
EX Molucca or Spice Islands, where it mingles with the odor- 
Xo: iferous flowers of the clove, the citron and the lime. 
i The stem is from one to two feet high, smooth, and of a 
EZ. sea-green color. 
3 It is an annual, often grown in the flower- 
‘i garden as a curiosity, for its singular manner of infloresence. 
The calyx or floral sheath is large and bell-shaped, which suggests 
the appearance of a hollow shell, while dcwvn in the bottom sits 
the flower itself, out of sight, the color being a yellowish-green. 
The blooming time is from May to August. 
You Becite my Curiosity. 
H strange it is, and wide the new-world lore, 
For next it treateth of our native dust! 
Must dig out buried monsters, and explore 
The green earth’s fruitful crust; 
tl 
eo 
Must write the story of her seething youth— 
How lizards paddled in her lukewarm seas; 
Must show the cones she ripened, and forsooth 
Count seasons on her trees; 
ETSY! art thou Eve’s true daughter? 
Betsy! hast a peering eye? 
Wouldst thou read as clear as water 
All the honeyed terms that lie 
Within that letter’s fragile folds? 
Spell every word that letter holds, 
And know when thy young master Harry 
Or Lady Jane intends to marry? 
With all the fruits of Eden blest, 
Save only one, rather than leave 
That one unknown, lost all the rest. 
Must know her weight, and pry into her age, 
Count her old beach-lines by their tidal swell: 
Her sunken mountains name, her craters gauge, 
Her cold volcanoes tell. —ean Ingelow. 
What! not yet in the secret, Betsy? 
That’s very puzzling—very! Let’s see— 
The letter’s not from Lady Jane, 
No, no! you need not peep again. 
A lady’s hand—the envelope 
Perfumed — the seal expresses “ Hope.” 
The waiter waits —no longer tarry! 
Go, give the letter to Lord Harry! 
—Anonymous, 
Eve, 
—Moore. 
