The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-07-08
HOUSEHOLD AND FARM.
THE SUNFLOWER.
history and Literature of This King of
Plants.


No flower for a long time has become so
popular and so personal as the sunf1oWer. III
has climbed into our favor and taken posses
session of our homes, our gardens and our
dress, and is everywhere the sentinel OF art
and fashion-and of right for 1t is not only
decorative and useful flower, but bears good
religious character, being rs Christian floW
er dedicated TO ST. Bartholomew, ST. LOUIS
king, and st. Antradis, and as Pagan EN-
blem the sacred flower OF the ancient Peruvl
vans, who were worshippers of the sun.
It's resemblance to the god OF day ana Its
supposed homage to the rising sun made 1t
their emblem of faith, and on this account 1t
was greatly used IN their religious ceremonies,
and the virgins who ofiiciated in the Temple
of the Sun were crowned with sunilowers
made of pure gold and carried them in their
hands and fastened their robes with them.
In Persia, and some other lands OF the East,
the sunllower is the emblem of constancy in
love, and there are many poetlcal illusions
in Eastern literature to the flower that always
turns its face toward the sun.
The first mention we have of 1t in England
is from Gerard, in 1896, when he tells US that
in his garden he has one that has grown to
the height of fourteen feet, that produces flow
ers measuring sixteen inches over Ia Spain
and Mexico they grow to the height Of twenty
tn diameter, and single flower producing
1889 seeds.
Alma Tadema has illustrated this fact IN
his beautiful picture Of "Sunilowers," III
which maiden is reaching up to the flowers,
which are still far above her The whole pur-
pose of the picture is evidently intended to
make the spectator feel the great height OF the
plant. Browning calls the flower "a foolish
mimic sun" Darwin gives 1t u better char.
acer, for he says it
Climbs the upland lawn,
And bows in homage to the rising dawn
Moore uses it as Il comparison of constancy,
for he says:
As the sunfower turns to her god when he sets
The same look which she turned when he rose.
But Blake gives it Il sad, longing character,
ana IN two short, exquisite verses makes you
feel 6,aite differently to the great yellow flow.
er:
All! SuniOwer, weary OF time,
Who CONTEST the steps of the sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden prime
Where the travellers journey is done.
Where the youth pinned away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves and aspire
Where my sunfower wishes to go
Botanical authorities say there are nearly
fifty species. Among those which are best
know are the tall sunilower OF Peru and MeXi
co, the perennial, a native of Virginia; and
the dwarf suntlower, brought as late rs 1878
from Egypt.
The seeds, when peeled, taste like sweet al
mond. They make an excellent bread of them
IN Portugal, and during the late war in the
southern states they were substituted for cot
fee in many a frontier cabin. They are good
food for poultry, and the oil pressed from them
is frequently used in the place of olive oil for
salads; II can also be burned in a lamp and is
splendid for soap making.
The stems and flowers when burned produce
good potash, and many housewife in Texas
has superintended the burning of suntlowers
to obtain the potash for her weeks baking
with rs much care as she did the baking
itself
In Texas the suntlower pulled at shutdown
with wish is sure to bring the wish true be
fore the next sunset $50 the Indians say, and
no true Texan will have garden without al
least one of these mimic suns" IN it. TIC
dream of them signifies that you will have
your pride wounded and negro if he has
this dream, will never rest until he has pulled
q sunflower to counteract the omen. And II
some parts of the South u negro will not LEI
you bring into the house suntlower that has
been pulled before 1t Is perfect, or one that Is
in any way broken Uaapers WeehIy.