nosegay would leave this little aquatic untouched, or probably pass it by unnoticed. It grows either on moist lands, or on places sometimes overflowed with water, having often a reddish tinge on its stems and leaves. It is a lowly creeping plant, and not unfrequent; its stems being from four to six inches long, with few branches. Its small green flowers, often without petals, appear in July and August. ORDER XXXI. TAMARISCINEÆ.-TAMARISK TRIBE. Calyx 4-5 parted, overlapping when in bud, remaining after the corolla is withered; petals 4-5 from the base of the calyx; stamens either equal to the petals in number, or twice as many, distinct or united by their filaments; ovary not combined with the calyx; styles 3; capsule 3-valved, 1-celled, containing many seeds, which have downy tufts at the extremity. The plants of this order are mostly shrubs, with long slender branches and small scale-like leaves. They are very numerous on the shores of the Mediterranean, thriving well by the sea or on the saline soils of deserts. The bark is astringent, and many species are remarkable for the large quantity of sulphate of soda afforded by their ashes. 1. TAMARIX (Tamarisk).-Calyx 5-parted; petals 5; stamens 5 or 10; stigmas feathery. Named from the Tamarisci, the people who inhabited the banks of the Tamaris, now the Tambra, in Spain, where this plant is in great abundance. 1. TAMARIX (Tamarisk). 1. T. Ánglica (Common Tamarisk).--Leaves quite smooth, somewhat narrowed at the base; flower-buds egg-shaped; capsule rounded at the base and narrowed upwards. Plant perennial. This pretty shrub is very ornamental to several parts of our coast, with its rich deep verdure, and its delicate red branches clothed, in July, with elegant spikes of pale rose-coloured flowers. It is very common in seaside gardens, and in many places by the sea grows in profusion, without culture, on rocks, cliffs, and sandy soils. Truly wild, however, the plant is not, in any part of the kingdom; for although it is abundant in some places, as at Hastings and Sandgate, it was doubtless originally planted there. It is often said to be wild in Cornwall, as Tamarisk shrubs abound about the Lizard and St. Michael's Mount, having probably been brought thither from the opposite coast of France. The plant is said to have been introduced into the Lizard district by a carter, who, having lost his whip, gathered one of the long flexible branches of the Tamarisk at the Mount, which, at the conclusion of his journey, he stuck into the ground, where it grew and flourished. Nor is this an unlikely mode of its propagation, for it grows from cuttings as freely as the willow. This is the same species which the earlier botanists called Tamarix Gallica, but, having become naturalised, it is called now the English Tamarisk. Fuller, in his "Worthies of England," remarks-"The Tamarisk was first brought over by Bishop Grindal out of Switzerland, where he was an exile under Queen Mary, and planted in his garden at Fulham, where the soil, being moist and fenny, well complied with the nature of this plant; yet it groweth not up to be timber, as in Arabia, though often to that substance that cups of great size are made thereof." Richard Hakluyt also says that in his time the plant had so increased that there were thousands of the trees in this country, and adds, "Many people have received great health by this plant." This writer published his work in 1582. In those days the cup made of Tamarisk was thought to improve the flavour of ale; the spit made of its wood imparted an excellence to the meat roasted upon it; and its use was considered so beneficial to persons afflicted with diseases of the spleen, that physicians ordered patients to eat from dishes made of tamarisk wood. It had also other domestic uses, as Browne in his " Pastorals" refers to it, "Amongst the rest, the Tamarisk there stood, For housewives' besoms onely knowne most good." And Pliny mentions its use for brooms by the Romans. Dioscorides praised it as a cure for every disease. It is the Myrica of the Greeks and Romans; and to the reader of the Classics is connected with many poetic associations. "It is so referred to," says Mr. Baxter, "in the Pastorals of Theocritus and Virgil, and many times in the Eclogues of the latter poet; Ovid also names it in several poems." Homer mentions it as the tree against which Achilles laid his spear before he rushed into the Xanthus to pursue the fleeing Trojans : "So plunged in Xanthus, by Achilles' force, Roars the resounding surge with men and horse; Which spreading Tamarisks on the margin hide." Evelyn says that it was considered one of the unfortunate trees, and gives that as the reason why its branches were in ancient times bound around the head of the criminal. It is in England commonly called Sea Cypress; but though its foliage somewhat resembles that of the Cypress, its mode of growth, pale hue, and deciduous habit make it quite distinct even to the unscientific eye. The Tamarisk has associations with scenes and times even earlier than those of the Roman or Greek writers, for there is little doubt that it is the Eschel or Ashel of the Scripture. The passage rendered in our authorized version, "Now Saul abode in Gibeah, under a tree in Ramah," is translated by Boothroyd, “Saul was sitting on a hill in Gibeah, under a Tamarisk-tree,”- -a rendering thought by Dr. Kitto to be the correct one. This author remarks that Saul preferred holding his court under the shadow of a tree, as many an Oriental prince of modern days would do. This, too, is thought to be the tree under which Saul and his sons were buried. Almost all travellers in Eastern countries speak of the Tamarisk-tree as the Athel or Atle of the Orientals. It is one of the very few trees which will flourish and attain a good size in the soil of the desert. Large Tamarisks, called Asul, are found all about Palestine, not graceful and slender as are those of our country, but tall and sturdy as oaks. The exact species of Eastern Tamarisks are not ascertained; but if not mere varieties of our English species, they are very nearly allied to it, and all have many points of similarity. The tree has long been highly prized by the Arabs for the medicinal uses of the galls which grow on its branches. The Tamarisk was called Toorfa by Avicenna, and its astringent galls are praised in his works; they are also used in dyeing. In Egypt these trees are as large as oaks. Sonnini tells us that not a village of Lower Egypt is without its Atlés. "There is," says this writer, "no other tree in the land which can in any degree be termed common. It furnishes the timber for mechanical purposes, and wood for fuel. Hence the Egyptians say, 'the world would go badly with them if Atles were to fail.'" They also make their bowls and drinking-cups of its wood. Another interesting association connected with the Tamarisk is, that it is the only tree now found growing amid the ruins of Babylon. Ker Porter thought that he discovered some traces of the celebrated hanging-gardens, and on an artificial mound there stood a tree which the Arabs called Athela. It was hollow with age, and its branches bending downward gave to it the aspect of a weeping willow. The boughs were graceful and richly verdant, though its large trunk was old and rugged. Some travellers have described this lonely relic of the ancient grandeur-this solitary tree-as a Cedar, others as a Willow; but Aucher, in 1835, gathered some specimens which he preserved, and which were considered by botanists to be the Tamarix pycnocarpus. The Arabs regard this tree as sacred, because, after the battle of Hillah, the Calif Ali reposed under its shade. It is thought to be as old as the time of Herodotus, B. c. 440. Our Tamarix Anglica is a native of most of the countries of southern Europe, of Asia Minor, Tartary, Japan, Barbary, and Arabia, as well as of many parts of Africa; and some other species, as the Eastern Tamarisk (7. Orientalis), are also common in these lands. A variety of our Sea-side Tamarisk affords, according to Ehrenberg, the manna of Mount Sinai. This manna, as it is called, because it is supposed to resemble the manna of the Scriptures, drops during the month of June from the branches and twigs beneath the tree, where it coagulates. If left till after sunrise it dissolves, and is lost. The Arabs, therefore, collect it before dawn. It is a sweet and pleasant substance, which the Arabs prize greatly, and pour over their bread as if it were honey. Falling in small quantities, it is a very costly luxury. This manna probably no more resembles the "Bread of Heaven," given in the wilderness, than does the substance called manna in this country, and sold by the druggists for medicinal purposes. This is the product of an Ash-tree, Ornus Europœa. ORDER XXXII. CUCURBITACEÆ.-GOURD TRIBE. Stamens and pistils often in separate flowers, either on the same plant or on different plants; calyx 5-toothed, connected with the corolla; corolla often scarcely to be distinguished from the calyx; stamens 5, more or less united; anthers twisted; ovary imperfectly 3-celled; style short; stigmas lobed; fruit more or less succulent; seeds flat, in a juicy arillus, or skin. The Gourd Tribe consists of a large number of important climbing herbaceous plants, having succulent stems and tendrils. In many cases their properties are very violent, but some plants of the tribe produce valuable fruit. To this Order belong the gourds, the fruits of which are, in Arabia, Egypt, and other countries, converted into bowls and other articles of domestic use; the bottle-gourds (Lagenaria) seeming exactly formed for this purpose, being shaped like flasks, and sometimes six feet long: when young they are used as spoons. The plants are of rapid growth, and the Common Garden Pumpkin increases so rapidly in size, that with its long shoots it will, in a good soil, in one season cover the eighth part of an acre. This is extensively cultivated in some parts of France to use in soups and fricassees. The Vegetable Marrow is often seen on our tables; the cool and refreshing Melons and Cucumbers in all their varieties afford us valuable edible fruits; while in hot countries Water Melons are among the most refreshing articles of diet. The Germans eat the fruit of the Squash gourd, which, from its shape, they term the Elector's Hat; and Cucumbers in Russia are deemed a most necessary vegetable diet. The Colocynth and Squirting Cucumber furnish powerful drugs; and the plant mentioned in Scripture as the wild vine, from which the sons of the prophets gathered gourds for Elisha at Gilgal, is believed to be the Ass, or Wild Cucumber, a plant of this Order, which is very bitter. As it resembles the cultivated cucumber it was apparently gathered by mistake, and its bitterness induced the men who procured it to consider it deleterious, bitterness in a vegetable indicating, in the ideas of the Hebrews, the presence of poison. Our Red-berried Bryony is the only British genus contained in this order. 1. BRYONIA (Bryony).—Stamens 5 in three sets; style 3-cleft; fruit, a globose berry. Name from the Greek bryo, to bud, from its rapid growth. 1. BRYÓNIA (Bryony). 1. B. dioica (Red-berried Bryony).-Leaves palmate, rough on both sides; pistils and stamens on different plants. Plant perennial. A very pretty climber is this Wild Bryony in early spring, when its half-developed leaves are of a delicate green hue, and its unfolding shoots grey with long silvery hairs. But as the months advance these leaves grow out into large vine-like foliage, and become of a deep rich green hue, covered with thick prickly hairs, and the long shoots armed with branching tendrils wind their way along the bushes, occupying no small space in the green hedgerow : "The scallop'd Bryony mingling round the bowers, Whose fine bright leaves make up the want of flowers." The blossoms, which may be seen from May to September, add little to the beauty of the plant, for though they are large, yet their greenish white petals, marked with darker veins, have nothing very attractive in appearance, and are also destitute of perfume, save such faint and sickly odour as might suggest the idea that they belonged to a poisonous plant: nor would the inference be altogether wrong. The root partakes of that powerful drug yielded by the Colocynth, and the round red berries, which are in autumn amongst our most beautiful wild fruits, are poisonous, while the whole plant abounds with a fetid and acrid juice. The root is very large and succulent, and to this accumulation of nutriment Linnæus attributed the quick growth of the Bryony. Gerarde mentions having seen one as large as a child six months old, weighing half a hundredweight, but this was unusually large. These roots were formerly much prized as a remedy for dropsy, but are not now administered by medical men internally, though Professor Burnett records that they were a few years since still sold at Covent Garden market, and used by the pugnacious to remove the blackness "which follows blows too vigorously applied in the neighbourhood of the eyes." The root, however, should not be used even externally when in a fresh state, or it would blister the skin. The acrimony is partly removed by drying. The writer just alluded to says, "Bryony root has also been often used, when cut in slices, to mix with Columbo-root, a vile adulteration, as the properties of the drugs are most dissimilar." He adds, that the most serious consequences might ensue from its use in cases in which a tonic like the Columbo is required. The fraud is considered by medical practitioners to have originated in the belief which once prevailed, that Columbo was the root of Bryonia epigæa, which it is said to resemble, and which in India is used instead of it. Our old herbalists praise the Bryony root as an invaluable external and internal remedy, though, according to their own admission, it was "a furious martial plant." Among other ways of using it, it was commonly made into an electuary for coughs, but it must have been a most dangerous medicine, unless used, as it is by modern homœopathists in tiny globules. Culpepper "As one that on his worth and knowledge doth rely In learned physic's use, and skilful surgery,” after recommending it for various maladies, cautiously adds, "When it must be taken inwardly it needs an abler hand to correct it than most country people have, therefore it is a better way for them to leave the simple alone, and take the compound water of it mentioned in my Dispensatory,' and that is far more safe, being wisely corrected." Those, however, are most safe who leave the plant altogether out of their list of remedies; but country people still have a strange belief that vegetable medicines are never dangerous, forgetting that Hemlock, Aconite, and other plants, contain most deadly poison. Villagers are often so ignorant of the nature of the plants which they use as remedies, that the author has more than once had much difficulty in dissuading persons from taking most powerful and most unsafe decoctions of wild plants. This Bryony is commonly called also Wild Vine, or Wood-vine, and in some countries, where hops are not cultivated, it is called Wild Hop. One of its old names was Tetterwort. Though so common in England, it is rare in Scotland. It grows wild in many European countries, and is called by the French Bryone, or Couleavrée; it is the Zaurübe of the Germans; the Bryone of the Dutch; and Brionia of the Italians; the Portuguese term it Norca bianca. The goat is the only animal which feeds on its foliage; but Dr. Withering says, that a decoction of the fresh root is an excellent medicine for horned cattle, and that it is a common practice in Norfolk to mingle small pieces of this root with corn in order to render their coats glossy and fine. Other physicians consider that it might be used medicinally with great advantage, as several foreign species are valuable medicines of other countries. The seeds of Bryonia callosa, a common plant in India, afford an excellent oil, much used for burning in lamps. ORDER XXXIII. PORTULACEÆ.-PURSLANE TRIBE. Calyx of 2 sepals, united at the base; petals usually 5 from the base of the calyx; stamens 3 or more inserted with the petals; ovary 1-celled; style 1 or 0; stigmas several; capsule 1-celled, opening transversely, or by 3 valves; seeds usually more than 1. This order consists of herbs or shrubs with very succulent leaves and stems. The species are all innocuous, and in many cases edible. Portulacea sativa is the Common Purslane, and is cultivated and much liked as a vegetable in several continental countries. The Da-t-kai of Caffraria, celebrated among the Hottentots for its edible roots, is a Purslane; and Mr. Burchell remarks that an abundance of the Common Purslane is to be found everywhere on the Asbestos mountains, and that he ordered a quantity to be boiled for his dinner, as it rarely happened that he could convert the wild vegetation of that country to culinary uses, the heat rendering plants so tough and juiceless, that they were unfit for eating. He remarks that this Purslane is one of the few plants whose seeds have been scattered in various and very different parts of the earth. The rocky hills of St. Helena are in the rainy season rendered verdant by this plant alone. Several species of the family have large and handsome flowers; but its only representative in Britain is an inconspicuous plant. 1. MONTIA (Blinks).-Calyx of 2 sepals; corolla of 5 petals, 3 smaller than the others, and all united at the base; tube of the corolla split to the base; capsule containing 3-dotted seeds. Name from Joseph De Monti, a botanist of Bologna. 1. MÓNTIA (Blinks). 1. M. fontána (Water Blinks).-Leaves opposite, tapering at the base. Plant annual. This lowly little chickweed varies much in size, but is always remarkable for its succulence. It flowers from June to August; its small white blossoms, drooping at first, and scarcely ever expanding, acquired for it the name of Blinks. It is abundant in wet places, and is very frequent on the Cheviot Hills, not far from the summit. Linnæus, who found it in Lapland, remarks that it was a plant which never came in his way before. "In Kalheden,” he |