264 LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
Beloved Daughter, Cinquefoil. In wet weather 
the leaves of this plant contract and bend over 
the flower, forming, as it were, a little tent to 
cover it — an apt emblem of an affectionate mother 
engaged in protecting a beloved child. 
Beneficence, Mallow. Page 145. The Potato, 
the peculiar vegetable of the poor, is also regarded 
as an emblem of beneficence. This root, lasting 
but for a year, escapes the monopoly of trade. 
Modest as true charity, the potato hides its trea- 
sures : it bestows them on the rich, and feeds 
the poor with them. America presented us with 
this useful vegetable, which has for ever banished 
from Europe one of the direst calamities — 
famine. 
Beware of Excess, Saffron. — A weak infusion of 
Saffron cheers the spirits, but those who drink 
too much of this liquor go mad. It is the same 
with its odour : if you smell to it slightly, it re- 
freshes ; if to excess, it kills. 
Black7iess, Ebony-tree. Pluto, the sovereign of 
the infernal regions, was seated on a throne of 
Ebony. It is said of a wicked man — he has a 
heart as black as Ebony. This saying no doubt 
originated in this circumstance, that while the 
