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origin are eagerly sought and carefully cherished by 
the florist ; and our English species are intimately 
associated with the recollections of early days, under 
the well-known name of Buttercups. The Adônis, 
with its scarlet blossom, by the French called “ Goûte 
de Sang,” is closely allied to these; and, though it 
occasionally grows in our com-fields, is, from the 
brilliancy of its tint, admitted to the garden. Another 
native, the Marsh Marigold, whose large yellow flowers 
spring in tufts by the banks of streamlets, belongs to 
this order. Here also we see the showy Peony. There 
is one British species of this plant probably not strictly 
indigenous, as it is found only in the rocky clefts of 
an island in the Severn, named the Steep Holmes. 
In superstitious times its ornamental seeds were made 
into necklaces, and worn as a kind of amulet, to ward 
off attacks from the powers of darkness. 
But, to revert to the Hepatica. Besides the original 
single-flowering plants, there are double varieties. The 
formation of double flowers is very often occasioned by 
the organs known by the names of stamens and pistils, 
assuming the appearance and character of petals. 
It is singular to remark the effect which change of 
soil produces on some plants. It is recorded that a 
d 3 
