Imatges de pàgina
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rooms are constantly ornamented with them, and mattresses are made of their leaves for men of rank to recline upon. festival, also, is held, called the Feast of Roses, which lasts the whole time they are in blossom.

10.

A happier smile illumes each brow,

With quicker spread each heart uncloses,
And all is ecstasy-for now

The valley holds its Feast of Roses;
That joyous time, when pleasures pour
Profusely round, and in their shower
Hearts open, like the season's rose,
The floweret of a hundred leaves,
Expanding when the dew-fall flows,

And every leaf its balm receives.-Moore.

11. "Poetry is lavish of roses. It heaps them into beds, weaves them into crowns and garlands, twines them into arbors, forges them into chains, adorns with them the goblet used in the festivals of Bacchus, plants them in the bosom of beauty-nay, not only delights to bring in the rose itself upon every occasion, but seizes each particular beauty it possesses as an object of comparison with the loveliest works of nature." "As soft as a rose-leaf," as "sweet as a rose,' rosy clouds," "rosy cheeks," "rosy lips," "rosy blushes," "rosy dawns," etc., are expressions so familiar that they have almost become the language of daily life.

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12. The wild rose, one species of which is the wild brier, or eglantine, has been made the emblem of "Nature's sweet simplicity" in all ages. It forms one of the principal flowers in the rustic's bouquet. It is not loved for its fair, delicate blossoms only; but its fragrant leaves, which perfume the breeze of dewy morn, and the soft breath of eve, entitle it to its frequent association with the woodbine or honeysuckle.

"The wild rose scents the summer air,

And woodbines weave in bowers,
To glad the swain sojourning there,
And maidens gathering flowers."

13. The standards of the houses of York and Lancaster had for emblems the wild rose; the white rose being used to distinguish the partisans of the former, and the red those of the latter.

"Thou once wast doomed,

Where civil discord braved the field,
To grace the banner and the shield."

14. It is said that the angels possess a more beautiful kind of rose than those we have on earth; and the poet Cowley, in one of his poems, represents David as seeing, in a vision, a number of angels pass by, with gilded baskets in their hands, from which they scattered flowers:

Some', as they went', the blue-eyed violets strew'
Some, spotless lilies in loose order threw',
Some did the way with full-blown roses spread',
Their smell divine', and color strangely red':
Not such as our dull gardens proudly wear,

;

Whom weathers taint, and winds' rude kisses tear.
Such, I believe, was the first rose's hue,

Which, at God's word, in beauteous Eden grew;
Queen of the flowers that made that garden gay,

The morning blushes of the spring's new day.-COWLEY.

15. The origin of the red color of the rose has been fancifully accounted for in various ways. By the Greeks, the rose was consecrated to Venus, the goddess of Beauty; and ancient fable attributes its red color to a drop of blood from the thornpierced foot of the goddess,

"Which, o'er the white rose being shed,

Made it forever after red."

Its beautiful tint is poetically traced to another source by a modern poet:

As erst in Eden's blissful bowers,

Young Eve surveyed her countless flowers',

An opening rose of purest white

She mark'd with eye that beam'd delight';

Its leaves' she kissed', and straight it drew

From beauty's lip the vermeils hue.-J. CAREY.

16. Perhaps no one of the roses is more prized for its beauty than the elegant moss rose. The flowers are deeply colored, and the rich mossiness which surrounds them gives them a luxuriant appearance not easily described. The origin of this mossy vest has been thus explained by a German writer.

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Moss Rose.

1 EX-ŎG'-E-NOUS, outward growers. Fourth Reader, p. 176.

The angel of the flowers one day
Beneath a rose-tree sleeping lay-
That spirit, to whose charge is given
To bathe young buds in dew from heaven.
Awakening from his slight repose,
The angel whispered to the rose,
"O fondest object of my care,

Still fairest found where all is fair,
For the sweet shade thou hast given me,
Ask what thou wilt, 'tis granted thee."
Then said the rose, with deepened glow,
"On me another grace bestow."
The angel paused in silent thought-
What grace was there the flower had not?
'Twas but a moment-o'er the rose

A veil of moss the angel throws

And, robed in Nature's simplest weed',
Could there a flower that rose exceed'?

See 5 AL-TERN'-ATE, rising higher on opposite sides alternately, and following in regular order.

2 Di-co-TYL-E-DON-OUS, having two cotyle-
dons. See Fourth Reader, note, p. 193.
3 AN'-GI-O-SPERMS, plants which have their
seeds covered.

6 €ANK'-ER, a name given to the dog rose. BöU-QUET' (boo-ka'), a bunch of flowers. [petals. 8 VER-MEIL (for vermilion), a red color.

POL-Y-PET'-AL-OUS, plants having many

LESSON V.-OUR COMMON FRUITS.
[EXOGENOUS or DICOTYLEDONOUS; Angiosperms; Polypetalous.]

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1. Amygdalus inca'na, Woolly almond, xi. 1, r., 2 f., M.-A., Caucasus. 2. Amyg'dalus commu'nis, Sweet almond, xi. 1, r., 15 f., M.-A., Barbary. 3. Pru'nus cer'asus, Com. mon cherry, xi. 1, w., 20 f., A.-My., England. 5. Pru'nus Armeni'aca, Common apricot, xi. 1, w., 15 f., F.-M., Levant. 6. Crataegus ni'gra, Black hawthorn, xi. 5, w., 20 f., A.-My., Hungary. 7. Crato'gus puncta'ta, Common thorn-tree, xi. 5, w., 15 f., My., N. Am. 8. Crataegus pyrifo'lia, Pearl-leafed thorn, xi. 3, w., 15 f., Jn., N. Am. 9. Cydo'nia vulgaris, Common quince, xi. 5, w., 12 f., My.-Jn., Austria.

1. ALL the most important fruits of the temperate regions of the world, such as the strawberry, raspberry, blackberry', and the apple, pear, quince, cherry, plum, apricot, peach, nectarine, and almond', have been classed by botanists in the rose family'; for all of them, in their natural or wild state, have similar characteristics by which they may be distinguished. They are not only exogenous', have covered seeds', and are polypetalous', but their leaves are arranged in alternate order around the stem, and never opposite'; their flowers are showy', have five petals', and are inserted on the calyx'. By these, and a few other more minute characteristics, these numerous plants are arranged in one large family.

2. Of the well-known apple, the most popular of all fruits, no description need be given; but it is well to remember, as an evidence of what cultivation has done, that its many hundred kinds are believed to be mere varieties of one original species, known as the common crab-apple. The apple was known to the ancient Greeks; the Romans had twenty

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two varieties of it; and poets, in all ages, have sung its praises.

The fragrant stores, the wide projected heaps
Of apples, which the lusty-handed year,
Innumerous, o'er the blushing orchard shakes;
A various spirit, fresh, delicious, keen,
Dwells in their gelid1 pores; and, active, points
The piercing cider for the thirsty tongue.

THOMSON.

3. The pear is a fruit-tree next in popularity and value to the apple, and its wood is almost as hard as box, for which it is even substituted by engravers. Its blossom, of which we give a drawing, exhibits the general character of the blossoms of all the rose family.

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4. The quince, plum, and apricot we must pass cursorily by, merely remarking of the apricot that it is a fruit intermediate in character between the plum and the peach. The peach and nectarine were considered by the Greeks as merely different varieties of the almond-tree, and as having sprung from it by cultivation. The fruit of the peach has a downy covering, while that of the nectarine is smooth, and both have been known to grow on the same tree, and even on the same branch. The leaves and blossoms of these trees can scarcely be distinguished apart. The blossoms of all of them appear early in spring, before the leaves; and hence those of the almond especially, which are noted for their profusion and beauty, have been made the emblem of hope-so early do they hold out the promise of abundance. Thus Moore says: "The hope, in dreams of a happier hour, That alights on misery's brow',

Springs forth like the silvery almond flower,
That blooms on a leafless bough'."

5. Nor is the emblem without its peculiar appropriateness; for so far back as we can trace the history of this tree, its early and fragrant blossoms, appearing before the leaves, were regarded as the promise of a fruitful season. Virgil gave expression to the popular belief in the following lines:

"Mark well the flowering almond in the wood';
If odorous blooms the bearing branches load',
The glebe2 will answer to the sylvan3 reign';
Great heats will follow', and large crops of grain`;

But, if a wood of leaves o'ershade the tree',
Such, and so barren, will the harvest be`;
In vain the hind+ shall vex the threshing-floor',
For empty straw and chaff shall be thy store."

6. The following tribute from an English poet to the almond blossom is beautiful and appropriate :

7.

Blossom of the almond trees,
April's gift to April's bees,
Birthday ornament of spring,
Flora's fairest daughterling;
Coming when no flow'rets dare
Trust the cruel outer air;
When the royal kingcup bold
Dares not don his coat of gold;
And the sturdy blackthorn spray
Keeps his silver for the May;
Coming when no flow'rets would,
Save thy lowly sisterhood,
Early violets, blue and white,
Dying for their love of light.

Almond blossom, sent to teach us
That the spring-days soon will reach us,
Lest, with longing over-tried,
We die as the violets died-
Blossom, clouding all the tree
With thy crimson broidery,
Long before a leaf of green
On the bravest bough is seen;

Ah! when winter winds are swinging

All thy red bells into ringing,

With a bee in every bell,

Almond bloom', we greet thee well.-EDWIN ARNOLD.

8. The mountain ash, a small but beautiful and popular tree, also belonging to the pear and apple family, and found wild in mountain woods in our Northern and Middle States, is often cultivated for its ornamental clusters of scarlet berries.

The mountain ash,

Deck'd with autumnal berries that outshine

Springs richest blossoms, yields a splendid show

Amid the leafy woods; and ye have seen,

By a brook side or solitary tarn,5

How she her station doth adorn; the pool
Glows at her feet, and all the gloomy rocks
Are brighten'd round her!-WORDSWORTH.

9. But while the Rose family comprehends all the most important of the fruits of the temperate regions, and is distinguished above all others for its floral charms, its medicinal properties are quite noted also. Thus the well-known Prussic acid, which, although a powerful poison, is also the basis of laurel water, exists in abundance in the leaves and kernels of the plums, cherries, and almonds; and many of the plants of this family yield a gum which is nearly allied to gum Arabic.

1 GEL-ID, cold; very cold.

2 GLEBE, the soil; the turf.

3 SYL'-VAN, pertaining to the forest.

14 HIND, the servant or domestic of a hus

bandman or farmer; a rustic,

15 TÄRN, a mountain lake.

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