The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1888-08-09
FLOWERS IN FOLK LORE.
REGARDED AS BENEFIcENT IN pop
ULAR LEGEND AND STORY.

World Wide Admiration of the Rose-An.
emone. Amaranth and Asphodel-But-
tercups and Daisies-The Forget-aTe-Not.
Tradition of the Lily-Modest Violet.
The Syrians regarded the rose as an
" emblem of Immortality. Chinese plant Il
Il over graves, and in the Tyrol it is said to
produce sleep Germans call the rose of
Jericho the Christmas rose, and it is SIM.
posed to divine the events of the wear if
STEPPED in water. on Christmas eve. II is
"a said in Persia that there is a CERTAIN
& charmed day in which the rose has
n heart of gold. Another tradition relates
that there is silver table on a certain
Mount Calassy. in India. and on this table
" lies silver rose that contains two beauti.
!ul women who praise God without ceas
ing. In the center of the rose is the
trlangie-the residence of God
1t is said that if white rose blooms in
autumn an early death is prognosticated
N Whlle an autumn blooming red rose signi
/. les marriage. The red rose, it is also
sad, will not bloom over a grave Rose
leaves are sometimes thrown on the fire
Tor good luck. and a rose bush may be
mace TO bloom in autumn by pruning it
on 81 johns day. Here, as we'll as in
france and Italy, it is believed that ROSY
cheeks will come to the lass who buries
a drop of her blood under rose bush
In Posen, young women assure the fidel
ity of their lovers by carrying a rosebud
In the breast Rose leaves are chosen for
divination in Thuringia, the maiden hay
ing several lovers scattering leaf named
after each one on the water; the leaf that
sinks last is the true lover
II ANEMoNE, AMARANTH, AsPHoDEL.
The anemone was regarded as the sym.
Dol OF sickness in ancient Egypt. 1t was
tabled to have sprung from the tears went
by Venus over Adonis. The amaranth
4 would, says Pliny, recover its color If
sprinkled with water. 1t was a symbol
OF immortality, the word meaning lever.
lasting" The asphodel was it's opposite.
meaning regret" The spirits of the
dead were thought to subsist on this
mower The bachelors button is so named
because youths carried one in the pocket
TO divine their success in love If the
hover died, it was an i'll omen. The
mower basil Is test of purity. If it is
put under the plate of an impure maiden
IN Voigtland, she will not touch it.
our familiar buttercup was so named
from an idea that it's consumntion in.
creased the butter producing quality of
the cows milk. Cows never eat them
but they grow only in dry, rich pastures
The columbine was ancientlv called a
'thankless flower" and was the emblem
OF forsaken lovers. The meek little daisv.
opening its eye with the light of the
planet Venus, has always been favorite
with the poets. Its star form caused it
to be an object of superstition, and Ger
man maidens prognosticatedt their fortunes
with it.
The forget-me-not is one of the flowers
that In German lore guard treasures en-
tombed IN caverns. The Swiss regard
with superstitious feeling the little edel-
weiss Jour cats foot or everlastinr). It's
Swiss name signifies noble purity.
LEGEND AND TRADITION.
The common marigold is named in
French Soucis (care) In Breton legend,
II touched By the bare foot of pure
hearted person on certain morning, it
gives power to understand the language
of birds. The crocus signifies unre.
symbol of death. The snowdrop is sacred
to the Virgin Mary. The primrose is an
important flower in folk lore. The Ger.
mans name it "Schlussel blume," or kew
flower It is tabled to open the way to
treasures.
The lily is additionally the emblem of
Diana and Lilith, Adams second wife.
To the people of India and Egypt it typi-
fed fertility, to the prophets it had a
mysterious Specification 1t is potent
against withcraft in Germany, if gath
cred with prayer. Spanish superstition
credits it with the power of restoring to
the human shape any one who has been
transformed to an animal 1t is remedy
for venomous bites in England, and it
was formerly thought that the number of
flowers on the finest stem indicated the
price of grain for the season.
The thistle, gathered in silence, was
formerly valued charm. 1t was sacred
to Thor, and was one of the many plants
that protected dwellings from lightning.
In England, the milk thistle is "Our
Lady's thistle" and the plant is well
known as the national emblem Of Scot
land Lastly, there is the modest violet,
type of humility. Mohammedans are fond
of it, as their founder revered it as type
of his religion 1t was the badge of me-
di@val minstrels, and golden violet was
the prize in the poetical contests at Tou-
louse.-F S. Bassett in Globe-Democrat