NATURAL HISTORY. 3 1.;’ 
covered, with the hands, as lightly as pofli- 
ble. When the plants appear, Jpey mult 
be fecured from the frolt by glaffes, mat- 
ting, or dry dung. Among the gillyflowers 
is ranked what is commonly called the carna- 
tion, old blowers, &c. 
PASSION FLOWER. 
^ 1 ^ HIS flower cannot be efleemed lefs than 
a miracle, fince God has thought proper to 
deferibe on it the principal emblems of the 
death and paflion of pur Saviour. The 
leaves are pointed, like a crown of t herns : 
the whitenefs of the leaves reprefenta the in- 
nocence of Chrift ; the red firings are em- 
blems of his being fcourged ; and the little 
column, in the middle of the flower, is 
thought by divines to be the figure of the 
pillar to which our Saviour was bound : 
another part reprefents the fponge ; and the 
ftamina, growing over the pillar, remind us 
of the three nails with which he was nailed 
to the crofs, and, in a word, the pointed 
leaves raife a perfedf idea of the fpear with 
which his facred fide was pierced. 'I'his 
moll curious flower grows in all forts of 
ground, efpeclally in a foil inclinable to 
moilt rather than light; it is multiplied by 
roots fet three inches deep. As the roots 
fpread confiderably, care fhould be taken to 
D d prevent 
