28 §mkm's ^onthlg. 



Tfre Border Narcissi form a division round which 

 a good deal of interest clusters. Maximus or Trum- 

 pet major, and Trumpet Sulphur, are two large and 

 showy single varieties, the first yellow in color. 

 The Poet's Narcissus (N. poeticus) is so well known 

 as not to need description, but everybody loves to 

 see it in the spring. The common Daffodil (N. 

 pseudo-Narcissus) is also a familiar spring flower; 

 but not so widely known are two aristocratic-looking 

 Daffodils, known as the Orange Phoenix and Sul- 

 phur Kroon, apparently improvements on the com- 

 mon double white border flower CN. alba plena). 

 The former has an orange blotch in the centre of 

 the flower; the latter a sulphur blotch. A few 

 bulbs in a large pot would make a good display in 

 the conservatory about the end of March. 



The Jonquils (N. Jonquilla) also deserve a word 

 of notice. The double and single varieties are well 

 known for their exquisite fragrance, and they suc- 

 ceed well either in pots or borders. The largo- 

 flowered single Campernelle is scarcely so well 

 known, perhap?, as some others, but as a border 

 plant it is very efl*ective. The Jonquils are yellow. 



T have avoided making remarks on all the varie- 

 ties that appear in the several divisions of this class 

 of flowers, my object being more to record the re- 

 sults of my own observation than to attempt in any 

 way to give complete lists of the many flowers now 

 under notice. Quo. in Gardener s Chronicle. 



About the Deodar Cedar. — In Section D. 

 (Zoology and Botany,) Dr. Cleghorn, before a re- 

 cent meeting of the British Association, read a pa- 

 per on the Deodar Forests of the Western Hima- 

 laya, and exhibited a sketch map, traced from the 

 Grreat Trigonometric Survey, showing, approxi- 

 mately, the position and extent of the Deodar tracts 

 between the J umna and Indus rivers, so far as as- 

 certained. He dwelt upon the applicability of the 

 wood of the Cedrus Deodara for railway purposes, 

 for which it is found very valuable. A Government 

 officer was, he said, now employed upon each of the 

 great rivers of the Punjaub, for working the for- 

 est upon sound principles of conservancy. The 

 quantity of Deodar timber brought down the Che- 

 nah alone, in one year, was 12,000 tons. 



Allusion was made to an interesting and increas- 

 ing trade in timber upon the Indus and Kabul 

 rivers, — an important subject in its commercial and 

 political bearing. The Deodar grows at an eleva- 

 tion of from 5000 to 12,000 feet, in a cold and 

 changeable climate. The natives of the Himalaya 

 invariably prefer the Deodar for building purposes ; 

 it is used in the construction of temples, forts, and 



bridges in damp and exposed situations, with alter- 

 nate layers of stone ; and some of these buildings 

 have stood for centuries. The underground beha- 

 vior of this wood in the permanent way has been so 

 far satisfactory in the dry climate of the Punjaub. 

 A series of photographs by Col. C. W. Hutchinson, 

 R.E., illustrating the characteristic vegetation of 

 the Deodar tracts and other Himalayan trees, was 

 exhibited by Dr. Cleghorn, who pointed out the 

 good qualities and uses of the various species. He 

 also gave a number of their dimensions and the rate 

 of growth as indicated by concentric circles of the logs 

 floated down the different rivers. 



Star or Bethlehem. — I shall not now have oc- 

 casion to' employ arguments or persuasions in favor 

 of the flower to be named. The Star of Bethlehem 

 is the Omithogalum, which means bird's milk, and 

 so I suppose we might venture to translate it dove's 

 flower, — because doves are the only birds that feed 

 their young with milk. The commonest kind is 0. 

 vmhellatum, which will grow in any qommon gar- 

 den border, and produce pretty, white flowers in 

 May. This species grows abundantly in meadows 

 and waste places in all parts of Europe, and espe- 

 cially in Italy, but is not often seen by botanists, 

 owing to the flowers being green on the outside. It 

 is also abundant in Palestine ; and there is one 

 fact in its history which may bear upon the unex- 

 plainable etymology of its generic name, and that is 

 that the root of the plant is edible, and, according 

 toLinnsaus, was the food which the translators ren- 

 der "dove's dung," — "the fourth part of a cab of 

 dove's dung was sold for five pieces of silver," (2 

 Kings, vi., 25.) But, perhaps no one can say now 

 what was meant. The Arabs call the plant kali, — 

 "sparrow's dung;" and, in Germany, asafoetidae is 

 called tenfelsdrick, or "devil's dung." It is worth 

 observing that it was during the siege of Samaria by 

 Ben-hadad of Syria, in the days of the wicked 

 Jehoram, king of Israel, that the famine took place, 

 and the Star of Bethlehem became precious as a 

 foreshadowing of the greater Star of Bethlehem, 

 who, in Samaria, should show forth His glory in 

 teaching the doctrine of free salvation to the poor 

 woman who came for water that wasteth away, and 

 obtained a draught from the fountain of everlasting 

 life. I say it is very strange that the plant which 

 was so precious in the days of famine and spiritual 

 darkness should bear the name it bears. But why 

 should it have this name ? I cannot tell, but I will 

 not forget a poem by one of your great writers, who 

 reminds me much of my countryman TJhland ; — I 

 refer to Kirke White, and his lovely song, "The 



