Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-01-04
flowers IN FOLK LORE.
,seARpED AS BENEFlcENT IN POP
uAR LEGEND AND STORY.

"a wide Admiration OF the Rose-An.
ua. Amarantb and AsphodeI-But-
an, and DaIsies-The Forget-0Ie-Not.
r-.dltion Of the Lny--DIodest Violet
mL, Svrians regarded the rose as an
liz, ~ If immortality Chinese plant IL
elO'c- raves. and in the Tyrol it is said to
Wss WsIce sleep Germans call the rose of
PlO,cbo the Christmas rose, and it is sup.
Isi5 .o5 n divine the events Of the year, II
Possnod IN water, on Christmas eve It is
s.I5P VA in Persia that there is q certain
ssiu ssi.--,ed dav in which the rose has a
s.or+ Of rold Another tradition relates
Tot there is q silver table on certain
!Io,,t ,IIrI Calassy. in India, and on this table
w. silver rose that contains two beauti-
III women who praise God without ceas-
In the center of the rose is the
I5sngle-the residence of God.
Il is scid that if white rose blooms in
.-trmn an early death is prognosticated,
rbiIe an autumn blooming red rose signi-
s.s marriage. The red rose, it is also
..;d will not bloom over grave Rose
i,aves are sometimes thrown on the fire
sor rood luck. and a rose bush may be
node TO bloom in autumn by pruning it
nn st. Johns day Here, as well as in
TTonce and Italy. it is believed that rosy
.bspks will come to the lass who buries
drop of her blood under rose bush
IN Posen, Young women assure the fdel-
Nv of their lovers by carrying a rosebud
IN the breast. Rose leaves are chosen for
Ivination in Thuringia. the maiden hav
mo several lovers scattering a leaf named
siHer each one on the water; the leaf that
sinks last is the true lover.
ANEMoNE, AMARANTH, AsPHoDEL
The anemone was regarded as the sym.
bol of sickness in ancient Egypt, 1t was
hbled to have sprung from the tears wept
bv Venus over Adonis The amaranth
would. SAYS Pliny. recover it's color If
snrinzled with water 1t was a symbol
n 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
flower The bachelors button is so named
because youths carried one in the pocket
TO divine their success in love II the
flower died. it was an i'll omen. The
flower basil Is test of purity II 1t 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 consumption 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 anciently called O
"thankless flower" and was the emblem
Of forsaken lovers The meek little daisy
opening it's 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 prognosticated 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 (our cats foot or eYerlasting( Its
Swiss name signifies noble purity.
LEGEND AND TRADITION.
The common marigold is named in
French Soucis (care) In Breton legend,
if touched By the bare foot of a pure
hearted person on a certain morning, it
gives power to understand the language
of birds The crocus signifies unre-
Quilted love. The poppy is well known
symbol of death. Tho snowdropi is sacred
to the Virgin Mary The primrose is an
important flower in folk lore. The Ger
mans name it "Schlussel blume," or key
flower 1t is fabled to open the way to
treasures.
The lily is traditionally 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 1t
was formerly thought that the number OF
lowers 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
iLady's thistle" and the plant is well
Known as the national emblem Of Scot
land Lastly. there is the modest violet.
type Of humility MohSmmedans are fond
OF 1t, as their founder revered it as type
OF his religion, 1t was the badge OF me-
GIl@val minstrels, and a golden violet was
the prize in the poetical contests at lou
louse,-F. S. Bassett in lobe-Demoerat'