OR, PLAIN TEACHING. 



303 



835. 



some beautiful double-flowered 

 varieties, with striped blossoms. 

 A singular property in these 

 plants is, that their capsules 

 burst, and scatter their seeds 

 upon the slightest touch : hence 

 they have been named impa- 

 tiens, iu the Linnean system — 

 signifying that they are impatient 

 of touch. 



The modest violet 9 6, has ever 

 been the praise of poetic theme. 



6 The name is 



derived from 

 heathen my- 

 thology : lo, 

 one of J upiter's 

 mistresses, was 

 said to have 

 been fed upon 

 violets, hence 

 viola. The flowers of the different 

 species are mostly white or violet, 

 and are found in many parts of 

 the world, including every part 

 of Europe, North America, Sibe- 

 ria, China, and Japan. The 

 sweet-scented violet is highly 

 valued on account of its early 

 appearance, and delicate perfume. 



The Stapelias, 7, constitute a 

 numerous tribe of plants which 

 7 are leaf- 



less, and 

 generally 

 flower up- 

 on their 

 stems. 

 The flow- 

 ers are 

 large in 

 propor- 

 tion to the 

 836 « size of the 



plants. They were brought ori 

 ginally from the deserts of Africa, 



and are named in honour of 

 Bodaeus a Stapel, a celebrated 

 physician of Amsterdam. 



The narcissus tribe, 8, ..are 

 favourite showy flowers, in which 

 the cupola is well 8 

 defined. The name 

 narcissus means 

 stupor, and is applied 

 on account of the 

 effects produced upon 

 the nerves by the 

 smell of them in cer- 

 tain cases. Jouquilla, 

 which is applied to 

 some of the species, 

 is derived from juncus, 

 a rush. The flowers 

 are very showy, and of easy 

 growth, and the heads exhibit 

 different forms, from the solitary 

 flower, to the many-flowered head. 

 Some are drooping^ others erect, 

 and the colours either white, 

 yellow, or purple and yellow. 



Lilies, 9, have ever been re- 

 garded as the floral emblem of 



837. 



whiteness. They take their name 

 from the Celtic word li, meaning 

 whiteness. They vary from the 

 simple and favourite lily of the 



