These plants are raised from seed that should be sown in the autumn, as soon after they are ripe as possible. They are usually sown in pots, which require to be kept in a shady situation: when the young plants appear above the earth they must be duly watered in dry weather, and in the autumn they may be planted into the beds where they are to remain, as there is danger in removing them; for if the root, which is like that of the carrot, be broken, it generally causes the plant to perish. The stalks decay down to the ground every winter, and they seldom flower oftener than every third year, and never blossom two successive years; but the roots remain sound for a great length of time in the earth.

VIRGINIAN COWSLIP. Dodecatheon Meadia.

Natural Order Precia.

Primulacea, Juss. A Genus of the Pentandria Monogynia Class.

Meadia's soft chains five suppliant beaux confess,
And hand in hand the laughing belle address;
Alike to all she bows with wanton air,
Rolls her dark eye, and waves her golden hair.

DARWIN.

The petal, stamen, and the pistil trace
Of common blossoms, or of unknown race;
The first well pleased you mark with grateful sight,
And view the last through hope's bewitching light.

What sudden pleasure, when some object rare,
Confined peculiar to one soil and air,
More precious far from expectation grown,
By some bless'd turn upon the sight is thrown!

DELILLE.

THE delight with which the botanist views a newly-discovered plant can only be conceived by the students of nature; it seems to expand his ideas, and give him new conceptions of the wisdom of the Great Creator. He contemplates with admiration the harmony of its parts, which he finds so happily adapted to its native situation on the globe; he learns by the character of the plant the climate

to which it belongs, and he soon conceives the utility of the individual plant to the grand link of vegetation by which the animal world is supported. The pleasure that the herbalist enjoys, when he first meets with an unknown plant, has been thus described by the poet of L'Homme des Champs.

He marks the treasure with an eager glance!

"Great God!" exclaims, and forth his hands advance,
Sudden to seize the prey: not more delight
Feels the fond lover at his mistress' sight.

He deems it as the most important event of his life, and he joyfully bestows on it the name of some esteemed friend, or eminent countryman: his fancy pictures it growing under cultivation with his native plants; his immediate acquaintance covet it for his sake, and his name is justly registered amongst those who have benefited their country by peaceable pursuits.

The plant, of which we are about to speak, is indigenous to the Columbian world, that vast field from which such store of novelty has been poured into the more known quarters of the globe. It grows in several parts of North America, and was first sent from Virginia by Banister to Bishop Compton in the year 1704; and Miller mentions having seen it in blossom at his lordship's garden at Fulham in the year 1709. After which, the plant.

was lost for several years in England, till it was again obtained from America, by Mr. Catesby, about the year 1744.

Mr. Mark Catesby, in his Natural History of Carolina, gave it the name of Meadia, in honour of Dr. Richard Mead, an English physician of that day, who, like some of the present time, was courted by the wealthy, and adored by the needy of his country, whilst his name was revered by the eminent of all parts of Europe.

On this account we feel a regret that Linnæus should have thought it necessary to change the generic term of this plant from that of Meadia, and more particularly so since the one he has bestowed on it seems as inappropriate, Dodecatheon being derived from two Greek words, which mean twelve gods; and the only cause he could have for adopting so whimsical a name, was from the observation that each of these plants generally produced twelve corollas. Meudia, however, remains as the specific name for the plant, of which there has not yet been a second species discovered. The French have given it the name of Gyroselle de Virgine, in addition to that of Dodecatheon Meadia.

This elegant plant flowers about the end of April, or the beginning of May; the stalk, after rising up to about eight inches in height, throws out an

umbel of flowers gracefully pendent, as rockets appear when thrown out of an elevated piece of fire-work.

The petals of the flower are of a rosy lilac, inclining to the colour of the peach or almond blossom; and they are reflexed, or turn back over the calyx, giving the appearance of an half-expanded parasol, which resemblance is considerably heightened by the long tapering shape of the parts of fructification, and the golden colour of the anthers.

The Dodecatheon should be planted in a shady situation, where the earth is of a loose, moist nature; but its beautiful delicacy and graceful formation make it deserving a situation even amongst the plants that are potted for the house.

It is easily propagated by offsets, which should be taken from the old plants in the month of August, that they may be fixed well to the earth before the frost comes on. It is increased more rapidly from seed, which the plant generally produces in plenty; these should be sown soon after they are ripe, either in pots, or a shady border. If these plants are much exposed to the sun whilst young, they are almost sure to perish, so impatient are they of heat. Many persons have lost their stock of these plants by planting them in dry soil in the most sunny parts of the garden, without