NATIVE WILD FLOWERS 
was the flower to which the name was first given, from its 
ivory whiteness and the exquisite polish of its petals. 
However that may be, the name lily is ever associated 
in our minds with grace and purity, and reminds us of 
the Saviour of men, who spake of the lilies of the field, 
how they grew and flourished beneath the care of Him who 
clothed them in robes of beauty more gorgeous than the 
kingly garments of Royal Solomon. 
Sir James Smith, one of the most celebrated of English 
botanists, suggests that the flower alluded to by our Lord 
may have been Amaryllis lutea, or the Golden Lily of 
Palestine, the bright yellow blossoms of which abound in 
the fields of Judsa and at that moment probably caught 
His eye, their glowing color aptly illustrating the subject 
on which He was about to speak. 
The Lily family has a wide geographical range, being 
found in some form in every clime. There are lilies that 
bloom within the cold influence of the Frigid Zone, as well 
as the more brilliant species that glow beneath the blazing 
suns of the equator in Africa and southern Asia. 
Dr. Richardson mentions, in his list of Arctic plants, 
Lilium Philadelphicum, our own gorgeous Orange (or rather 
scarlet-spotted) Lily. He remarks that it is called by the 
Esquimaux “ Mouse-root,” from the fact that it is much 
sought after by the field-mice, which feed upon the root. 
The porcupine also digs for it in the sandy soil in which it 
delights to grow. 
In Kamschatka the Lilium pomponium is used by the 
natives as an article of food, and in Muscovy the white 
Narcissus is roasted as a substitute for bread. 
The healing qualities of the large white Lily roots and. 
leaves, when applied in the form of a poultice to sores and 
boils, are well known. Thus are beauty and usefulness. 
united in this most attractive plant. 
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