THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
51 
TARES (Loliutn temulenturn ). Yice. 
The tare is made to symbolize vice. Its stalk resem- 
bles that of wheat; it grows up in the finest harvests. 
The hand of the wise and skilful cultivator roots it up 
with care, that it may not be confounded with the 
good grain. Thus a wise instructor ought diligently to 
eradicate every inclination to vice which springs up in 
the youthful heart; but he should beware lest he uproot 
at the same time the germs of virtue. 
MARSHMALLOW (Althea officinalis). Beneficence. 
The marshmallow, which typifies beneficence, is the 
poor man’s friend. It grows wild along the brook and 
around the cottage, and sometimes shows its modest 
head in the garden. It is a soft, silvery-looking plant, 
with delicate, pretty pink flowers. The flowers, the 
leaves, the stalk, and the root are all useful. Various 
pastes and sirups are prepared from its juices, as 
pleasant to the taste as they are excellent for the health. 
A lost traveller has sometimes found wholesome nutri¬ 
ment in its root. We need only look around us to 
discover, everywhere in nature, proofs of love and 
foresight. But this tender mother often conceals, in 
plants as in men, the greatest virtues under the most 
modest exterior. 
