234 THE ASSOCIATIONS OF FLOWERS 
in early spring, the farmers of Sweden who have bee- 
hives often plant it in great quantity about their gardens, 
as a resource for these intelligent little creatures before 
flowers are abundant. Guided by its instinct, the little 
insect selects the wholesome flower, and passes by the full 
nectary of the crown imperial, because its honey is poison- 
ous. 
The butter-bur is considered very injurious to meadow- 
lands ; for its white root creeps to a great distance, and by 
thus multiplying the plant, renders it very difficult of ex- 
tirpation. It was to the root that were ascribed the 
remedial effects of the plant in the plague; and a decoc- 
tion of it is still given by country people to patients suffer- 
ing from pestilential fevers. 
There are in the gardens two species of butter-bur. 
The white kind (Petasites alba) is brought from the 
southern parts of Europe, where it is a very common 
plant ; and the sweet - scented butter - bur (Petasites fra- 
grans) is often its companion in the luxurious plains of 
Greece, and scents the air above the “ flowery fields of 
Enna.'’ The latter kind extends itself, if left undisturbed, 
all over the garden, and grows well among trees. Its 
blossom has a lilac tinge; and it bears large leaves, and 
is so powerfully fragrant that, though delicious out of 
doors, it is too powerful to be endured in the house by 
any but persons possessing the strongest nerves. Its scent 
resembles that of the white clematis, but is even stronger 
than that of this flower. 
Both of the garden kinds are also peculiarly grateful to 
bees, and are in bloom during the three first months of 
the year, along with the snowdrop and crocus. 
The petasites, being a compound flower, belongs to the 
order mentioned in the previous chapter. 
