27. Sorrel lupine-leafed, Oxalis lupinifolia. St. Virgil, bishop of Salzburg, 784.

28. Stapelia, variegated, Stapelia variegata. St. Stephen the younger, 764.

29. Sphenogyne, S. piloflora. St. Saturninus, bishop, 257.

30. Sorrel, three-coloured, Oxalis tricolor. St. Sapor, bishop.

DECEMBER.

1. Stapelia, dark, S. pulla. St. Eligius, bishop of Noyon, 659.

2. Geodorum, lemon, Geodorum citrinum. St.

Bibiania, 363.

3. Indian tree, Euphorbia tirucalle. St. Francis Xavier, 1552.

4. Gooseberry, Barbadoes, Cactus pereskia. St. Chrysologus, 450.

5. Hibiscus, long-stalked, H. pedunculatus. St. Crispina, 304.

6. Heath, nest-flowered, Erica nudiflora. St. Nicholas, archbishop of Myra, 342.

7. Achania, hairy, Achania pilosa. St. Am brose, 397.

8. Arbor Vita, American, Thuga occidentalis. Blessed Virgin Mary.

9. Spruce, Corsican, Pinus laricio. St. Leodocia, 304.

10. Cypress, Portugal, Cupressus pendula. St.

Eulalia.

11. Pine, Aleppo, Pinus halepensis. St. Damascus, Pope, 384.

12. Heath, crowded, Erica abietina. St. Eadburga, 751.

13. Arbor Vitæ, African, Thuga cupressoides. St. Lucy, martyr, of Syracuse, 304.

14. Pine, swamp, Pinus palustrist. St. Spiridion, archbishop, 348.

15. Pine, pitch, Pinus resinosa. St. Florence,

abbot.

16. Arbor Vitæ, Chinese, Thuja orientalis. St. Adelaide, empress, 999.

17. Cedar, white, Cupressus thyoides. St. Olympias, 410.

18. Cypress, New Holland Cupressus australis. St. Winebald, 760.

19. Heath, two-coloured, Erica bicolor. St. Samthana, abbess, 738.

20. Stone-pine, Pinus pinea. St. Philogonius, bishop of Antioch, 322.

21. Sparrow-wort, Erica passarina. St. Thomas, apostle.

22. Heath, pellucid, Erica pellucida. St. Cyril,

881.

23. Cedar of Lebanon, Pinus cedrus. St. Victoria,

250.

24, Pine, frankincense, Pinus tada. Sts. Thrasilla and Emiliana.

25. Holly, Ilex aculeata baccifera. Nativity of our Saviour.

26. Heath, purple, Erica purpurea. St. Stephen, first martyr.

27. Heath, flame, Erica flammea. St. John, the Evangelist.

28. Heath, bloody-flowered, Erica cruenta. The Holy Innocents, who suffered from Herod's cruelty.

29. Heath, Erica genistopha. St. Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, 1170.

30. Ponthieva, glandular, Ponthieva glandulosa. St. Anysia, 304.

31. There is no flower appropriated to this day.

363

THE

DIAL OF FLOWERS.

"Twas a lovely thought to mark the hours,
As they floated in light away,
By the opening and the folding flowers
That laugh to the summer's day.

Thus had each moment its own rich hue,

And its graceful cup and bell,

In whose coloured vase might sleep the dew,
Like a pearl in an ocean shell.

To such sweet signs might the time have flowed,

in a golden current on,

Ere from the garden, man's first abode,

The glorious guests were gone.

So might the days have been brightly told-
Those days of song and dreams-

When shepherds gathered their flocks of old
By the blue Arcadian streams;

16

So, in those isles of delight, that rest
Far off in a breezeless main,

Which many a bark with a weary guest
Has sought, but still in vain.

Yet is not life, in its real flight,
Marked thus-even thus-on earth,
By the closing of one hope's delight,
And another's gentle birth?

Oh! let us live so that, flower by flower,
Shutting in turn, may leave

A lingerer still for the sunset hour,

A charm for the shaded eve!

HEMANS.

When a plant is approaching its state of perfection, when its organs of nourishment are completely developed, and its vegetation is most luxuriant, then arrives the time of flowering, which has been aptly termed "the joy of plants." The most superficial observer must have noticed how different is the season of flowering of individual plants, and how each month is adorned with its particular flowers. When the intense cold of January confines us to our houses, the Black Hellebore, or Christmas Rose, unfolds its dazzling white blossoms; in February, the innocent Snowdrop presents to us her elegant cup. In the same month the Hazel puts forth