OR, PLAIN TEACHING. 



317 



not remarkable for the attractive- 

 ness of their flowers, though the 

 fuchsia has been highly developed 

 by cultivation. The beauty of 

 the fuchsia consists not alone in 



16 



872. 



its flowers ; the young wood, and 

 the petioles and nerves of the 

 leaves are tinged with a deep 

 crimson, and the flowers, which 

 are axillary, 773, are pendulous, 

 and exceedingly beautiful, the 

 corona being very prominent. 

 They are mostly derived from 

 North America and Hudson's 

 Bay. 



17 



873. 



The jasmine, 17, so named from 

 the Arabic ysmyn, possesses an 

 exquisite fragrance, though the 



flower is small and simple. The 

 curious differences of leaves 

 growing upon the same shrub, 

 are worthy of observation, so 

 many as five or six different 

 forms, in some instances, pre- 

 vailing upon the same plant. 

 The jasmine was introduced into 

 Great Britain from the East 

 Indies in the 17th century, but 

 being lost there, it remained un- 

 known until 1730. Prior to that 

 it grew in the garden of the 

 Grand Duke of Tuscany, at Pisa, 

 where it was considered so rare 

 and choice that it was carefully 

 guarded, lest cuttings should be 

 purloined. It is now a favourite 

 wall shrub ; and the doorway 

 of thousands of cottages are 

 rendered odorous by its sweet 

 fragrance. 



18 



874. 



What curious plants are those 

 of the cactus tribe, 18. They 

 are generally spiny, succulent 

 plants, without leaves, and hav- 

 ing the stems or branches jointed. 

 Some of them assume most 



