92 
TROPICAL FLOWERS* 
The fresh green, the rieh pink, and even scarlet, 
of the opening leaves are beautiful beyond de- 
scription, and the autumn-tinted foliage never 
ceases through all the seasons ; but I had little 
idea as I rounded the cape of Gibraltar, leaving 
to the north of me purple hills of heather, scarlet 
fields of poppies, and rich parterres starred with 
cistus and orchids, with anemones and geran- 
iums, and sweet with aromatic shrubs and herbs, 
that I should encounter nothing half so rich or 
bright amid all the profusion of the summer of 
the world,” 
Even the flowers cultivated in gardens do not 
yield the pleasure of a bouquet at home. They 
are either scentless, or scent so heavily that they 
are sickening. They fade quickly when gathered ; 
but they are really scarcely suitable for an orna- 
ment in a room,* — they need their own setting of 
ample greenery to tone their gorgeousness. 
