. In her hat of straw, for her gentle swain,
She has placed the lemons pale.
Thither, yes! thither, &c. &c."

LILAC.

SYRINGA.

JASMINEE.

DIANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

French, lilas commun; lilas; queue de renard de jardin [garden fox-tail-Italian, siringa: in Sicily, alberu di pacenzia.

THE name Syringa is of Greek origin, and signifies a pipe. The old English name is Pipe-tree. Caspar Bauhin supposes Syringa to be an African word. Linnæus was inclined to trace the name to the nymph Syrinx, who, to escape the pursuit of the god Pan, was, at her own request, changed by the gods into a reed; of which Pan formed a musical instrument, and gave it the name of his favourite. nymph :

"Among the Hamadryade Nonacrines,

(On cold Arcadian hills) for beauty famed,
A Nais dwelt; the nymphs her Syrinx named,
Who oft deceived the satyrs that pursued,
The rural gods, and those whom woods include.
In exercises, and in chaste desire,

Diana-like; and such in her attire.

You either in each other might behold,

Save that her bow was horn-Diana's gold:

6

Yet oft mistook. Pan, crown'd with pines, returning
From steep Lycæus, saw her; and love-burning,
Thus said: Fair virgin, grant a god's request,
And be his wife.' Surcease to tell the rest;
How from his prayers she fled, as from her shame,
Till to smooth Ladon's sandy banks she came :
There stopp'd; implored the liquid sister's aid
To change her shape, and pity a forced maid.
Pan, when he thought he had his Syrinx clasp'd
Between his arms, reeds for her body grasp'd.
He sighs they, stirr'd therewith, report again

A mournful sound, like one that did complain.
Rapt with the music- Yet, oh sweet!' said he,
Together ever thus converse will we.'

Then of unequal wax-join'd reeds he framed

This seven-fold pipe: of her 'twas Syrinx named *."

SANDYS'S OVID, Book 1.

Lilac, or Lilag, is a Persian word, signifying a flower.

Of the Common Lilac there are three varieties: the Blue, the Violet, and the White. The second is generally known by the name of the Scotch Lilac: this has the fullest flowers.

"The Lilac," says Mr. Martyn, "is very commonly seen in English gardens, where it has long been cultivated as a flowering shrub. It is supposed to grow naturally in some parts of Persia; but it is so hardy as to resist the greatest cold of this country.

"The Scotch Lilac," continues he, "is the most beautiful of the three; and is probably so called because it was first mentioned in the catalogue of the Edinburgh garden."

Gerarde and Parkinson cultivated the Blue and the White kinds under the name of Pipe-tree, or Pipe-privet. Gerarde says, "I have them growing in my garden in great plenty." (1597.) This shows it to have been at that time comparatively rare; and the beautiful Lilac now so common in our gardens and shrubberies was far more so.

The flowers appear towards the end of April, or early in May, and usually last about a month. Although called a shrub, the Lilac will grow to the height of eighteen or twenty feet; and the leaves growing very luxuriantly, it may be considered as a tree of very respectable dimensions.

The species of Lilac best adapted for pots is the Persian, which seldom exceeds six feet in height. The flowers blow

* The Syrinx is still a pastoral instrument in Syria.

some weeks later than those of the Common Lilac, and last longer in beauty; but do not produce ripe seeds in England. It is a light and elegant shrub, of a more lady-like delicacy than the Common kind; compared to which, it is as the light and crisp Chinese-rose compared to the full-blown beauty of the Cabbage-rose. This shrub was formerly known among the nurserymen by the name of the Persian Jasmin; the Italians call it Gelsomino di Spagna (Spanish Jessamine).

The Common Lilac thrives best upon a rich, light soil, such as the gardens in the neighbourhood of London are chiefly composed of; and there they grow much larger than in any other part of England. In a strong loam, or a chalky soil, they make little or no progress. The best time to transplant them is in the autumn. The Common Lilac is a native of Persia, as well as the Persian, specifically so called; but the latter was brought to this country about half a century later.

It may not be altogether useless to mention, that the flowers of the Lilac are always produced upon the shoots of the former year; and below the flowers, on the same shoot, other shoots come out to succeed them; for that part upon which the flowers stand decays down to the shoots below every winter. Therefore, if it is desired to preserve the tree in full beauty, care should be taken, in plucking the flowers, not to take with them those young shoots which are to produce the flowers of the following season, or the blossoms will be comparatively few.

The earth should be kept moderately moist, and the Persian Lilac should be sheltered from frost.

The Lilac flowers in the beginning of April, at a time when, as Warton observes, little of Flora's embroidery is to be seen in the shrubbery—

When the Lilac blossom has attained its full beauty, it begins to fade gradually, until it becomes at last of a red colour. Thus Cowper speaks of them as sanguine :

“The lilac, various in array, now white,

Now sanguine, and her beauteous head now set
With purple spikes pyramidal, as if

Studious of ornament, yet unresolved

Which hues she most approved, she chose them all."

"shrubs there are

COWPER'S TASK.

Of bolder growth, that at the call of spring
Burst forth in blossom'd fragrance; lilacs robed
In snow-white innocence, or purple pride."

MASON'S ENGLISH GARDen.

The Spanish poet Garcilasso describes a shepherd offering Blue Violets to Venus, in return for three kisses which he had obtained from his mistress under the shade of some Lilac trees:

"These violets, holy power, to thee

With grateful inind does Thyrsis cast,
For that from long-loved Leuca, he
Has gained some fruit of love at last.

Creeping behind the lilac trees,

I snatched three kisses sweet, and choice."

LILIES.

LILIUM.

LILACEE.

HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

French, le lis; lys.—Italian, giglio: in the Brescian, zei.

ALTHOUGH We usually associate the idea of extreme whiteness with the lily, so that it is common to express a pure white by comparison with this flower, as with snow,

and as white as a lily is an old and common proverb, yet lilies are of almost every variety of colour: perhaps there is no other flower that varies so much in this respect.

"The Common White Lily," says Mr. Martyn, "has been cultivated in England time immemorial." The stem is usually about three feet high. The flowers are brilliantly white, and glossy on the inside. It is from the East; and in Japan the blossom is said to be nearly a span in length. This Lily flowers in June and July. The roots, which are mucilaginous, are sometimes boiled in milk or water, and employed in emollient poultices; but they have not much reputation. An oil for the same purpose was also prepared by infusing the roots in olive oil.

There are several varieties of the White Lily: as, that with the flowers striped or blotched with purple; that with the leaves striped or edged with yellow; one with double, and one with pendulous flowers. The double flowers are less fragrant than the single; and the common kind is generally held in higher estimation than any of the others.

This Lily may easily be increased by offsets, which the bulbs furnish in great plenty. They should be taken off every second year. The best time to remove it is about the end of August, soon after the stalks decay. It will thrive in almost any soil or situation, is very hardy, and not liable to injury by frost. Few plants are more easily increased or preserved than the Lily, so remarkable for the beauty and fragrance of its flowers.

The bulbs, when removed, may be treated as other bulbs; but the sooner these are re-planted the better, as they do not keep so well out of the ground as many

others.