The San Francisco call., 1910-07-24
EsataA & e
FLOWER LORE

Instituted in the reign of Romolus and
later the Floralia, or public games be-
came feature of the celebration But
the Romans never carried flower
worship into their literature and re-
ligion, rs did the Greeks; and with
the decadence of the empire many OF
the customs passed into obscurity.
The Chinese are such an exclusive
people that ii is almost impossible to
obtain any accurate information in re
gard to their institutions and trad-
tions Even the origin of their name
is shrouded in mystery. There is un-
questionable proof, however, that they
like all oriental people, attached much
Importance to floral symbolism. They
are said to excell all other nations in
making and beautifying of gardens
Flowers are used by them in great pro-
fusion at all their public and private
celebrations and are woven into their
theology. The sacred lotus of the
east is one of their religious emblems
and it is said to be one of the ingre-
dients of their wonderful draft of
immortality"
The Japanese, too, are lovers Of flow
ers and contrive to utilize them most
effectively as factors OF public pleasure
Japan possesses only a small portion
of the wealth of blossoms with which
western countries are endowed, but the
flowers of each season are given such
prominence there and are so much
part of their social life that the let
ters of the angel tongue" have prob
ably a greater significance to the
japanese than they have to the people
of any other land. Almost every month
has associated with it a special flower
and the large cities have groves and
gardens in which they are publicly dis
played. Flower viewing excursions are
among the favorite amusements of the
holiday season. Great Importance is at
tached to the significance and meaning
of each plant and even among the very
poor floral gifts are exchanged on all
special occasions.
England has been accused of ignor-
ing the study of floral symbolism and
of deeming it too trivial for attention
in this practical age But 1t was not
always thus. Her poets, from Chau-
Ger to Tennyson, have made continual
use Of the emblematic significance of
flowers; while Shakespeare in several
Of his plays has displayed a plant
knowledge which proves him to have
been a student as well as lover Of
botany. In no instance has he shown
this knowledge to better effect than in
the composition of poor Ophelia's gar
land. There can have been no acci-
dent in the selection of those bios
sons
In our own country flowers grow in
such abundance and variety as to give
unlimited opportunity for the construc-
tion of codes and symbol systems. Even
if we do not wish to speak the lam
guage Of the flowers, it is well to
know the stories of them-such won
derfully interesting stories they are
beautiful joyful, tender, sad. Although
this is such a practical age, and we are
all so busy getting ready to live that
we have little time for romance and
sentiment, there are few of us in whom
there is not an instructive love of flow
ers. They are bound to our humanity
by links too strong to be broken. They
are associated with our joys and sor-
rows, with life and death, and they are
ever symbols of that sympathy which
makes the whole world akin
Read the story OF the peony in The
Junior next week.