26 o the associations of flowers 
the wall-flower is frequently the subject of poetic com- 
parison, and is much admired. The word cheiranthus is 
derived from the Arabic word ‘"kheyry.” This was the 
ancient name, however, of a genus of red flowers, and 
was not given in former times to the flower which now 
owns it. 
One species of this plant, the sad wall-flower (Cheir- 
anthus tristis), as it has been poetically called, has a 
sombre and dismal hue, of a dark liver colour, and can- 
not boast of an ornamental appearance ; but it compens- 
ates for its deficiency in lustre by the exquisitely delicate 
fragrance which it diffuses during night. 
Night - scented blossoms are rarely beautiful in their 
tints ; but this is of little importance, since they seem 
rather to belong to the hours of darkness than to the 
day and sunlight. Their odour reaches the evening wan- 
derer at a time when its aroma might not be expected. 
A nightly-expanding blossom it was which suggested the 
beautiful thought of the Hindoo poet, “ The moon looks 
on many night - flowers ; the night - flower sees but one 
moon.’' 
In our country' night-scented flowers are few ; though 
in the East the moon seems to have as much power as 
the sun in extracting their perfumes. Several of our 
native plants, like the lime blossoms, scent the evening 
air, though until that period of the day their odour is 
not perceptible. This is the case with one of our wild 
orchideous plants, the butterfly- orchis (Habenaria bifolia.) . 
It has large yellowish-coloured flowers, which are at all 
times fragrant, but during evening much miore so than 
at noon. The same may be said of the little moschatel, 
or gloryless (Adoxa moschatellina), a small green flower, 
with three lobed leaves on a long leaf-stalk, which, when 
the dew begins to fall, emits its long-concealed odours, 
and imbues the air with the scent of mmsk. The yellow 
ladies’ bed-straw has, during twilight, a scent like that 
of new honey; and the musk-mallow (Malva moschata), 
which during the sunshine has but a faint musky smell, 
reserves the full power of its odours until that period 
“ When the lamb bleating doth bid good-night 
Until the closing day.” 
