INTRODUCTION. 
And bids the many-plumed warbling throng 
Burst the fresh blossoms with their song, 
“ He hends the luscious cane, and twists the string 
With bees, — how sweet, but ah! how keen their 
sting! 
He with five flowerets tips thy ruthless darts, 
Which through five senses pierce enraptured 
hearts.” 
Translation by Sir William Jones. 
But we will leave this dangerous land, and 
wander through the ever blooming vales of 
Japan. Let us deck ourselves with her gor¬ 
geous lilies,—her Japonicas,— her flowers so 
beautiful that even the females are named 
from them. Where’er we roam we shall find 
that nature strews the earth with flowers. 
We proceed to take a brief survey of the 
habits of flowers. Many varieties open their 
flowers in the morning, and close them in 
the evening; yet all do not open or close at 
the same hour. Plants of the same species 
are pretty regular to an hour in equal tem¬ 
peratures ; hence the daily opening and shut¬ 
ting of the flower has been called Horolo¬ 
gium Florae. 
It has been very truly observed that flow- 
