CLASS HEXANDRIA. 157 
from a place beside the proud tulip and the noble lily. The onion 
belongs to the natural order of Jussieu, Asphodel i\* 
The Asphodel, which gives name to the family, was, among the 
ancients, a funereal plant; it was made to grow around the tombs, 
and a belief prevailed that the manes of the departed were nourish¬ 
ed by its roots. An inscription upon a very ancient tomb com¬ 
mences thus, u lam nourished by the Asphodels This plant was sup¬ 
posed by the ancient poets, to gro w in abundance upon the borders 
of the infernal regions. Fig. 129 represents a flower of the Asphodel 
family, (Eucomis .) 
The genus Scilla is an exotic, containing the squill, a medicinal 
plant, and the hare-bell of English poets ; the latter is Scilla nutans , 
or nodding ; it abounds in the woods and glens of Scotland, and has 
a very slender scape. Thus Scott, in the “ Lady of the Lake,” says 
of Ellen Douglas, 
“ E’en the slight hare-bell raised its head 
Elastic from her airy tread.” 
The flower which we caTl hare-bell, is the Campanula rotundifo- 
lia; this is very common near waterfalls, and upon rocks in other 
situations. The barberry ( Berberis ) is common in New-England ; 
its stamens possess an unusual degree of irritability; they recline 
upon the petals, but when the bases of the filaments are touched by 
any substance, they instantly spring towards the pistil. 
You may have observed, that although we have remarked upon 
the beauty of some flowers to be found in this class, nothing has 
been said of their utility ; the truth is, that the former, as is too often 
the case with external beauty, constitutes their chief merit: when 
we compare the advantages which the world derives from the costly 
race of showy tulips, with the utility of the humble flax, we feel that 
though we may admire the one, reason would teach us to prefer the 
other. May you from this derive a moral lesson, which shall sug¬ 
gest to your minds some truths applicable to our own race as well 
as the plants. 
The genus Convallaria contains the lily of the valley, and many 
other delicate and interesting species. Among these are Solomon’s 
seal. This name is supposed to have been taken from certain marks 
on its roots, resembling the impressions made by a seal. It was for¬ 
merly much celebrated for medicinal properties.! 
Order Digynia. 
Wo here find the Rice ( Oryza ;) this belongs to the family of 
grasses, which you have already met with in the class Triandria; 
but this plant having six stamens, is separated by the artificial sys¬ 
tem from the tribe to which it is allied by natural characters. No 
plant in the world appears of such general utility as an article of 
food. It is the prevailing grain of Asia, Africa, the southern parts 
of America, and is exported into every part of North America and 
Europe. 
Order 'Trigynia. 
We here find the genus Rumex , which contains the dock and sorrel; 
* The Dracaena draco , belonging to this family, is represented in Plate i. Fig. 3, of 
the Appendix. 
t Gerard, a very ancient botanist, has the following curious passage. “The root 
of Solomon’s seal stamped, while it is fresh and greene, and applied, taketh away in 
one night, or two at the most, any bruse, black or blew spots gotten by fals, or wo¬ 
man’s wilfulness, in stumbling upon their hasty husband’s fists, or such like.” 
Asphodeli—Scilla—Hare-hell—Barberry—Flowers of this class more remarkable* 
for beauty than utility—Convallaria—Rice—Rumex. 
14 
