The Work Of Nature In The Months.

TAVO ol the most beautiful of the Lily tribe are also now blooming , one , the Wild Tuli p only found in chalky soils ; the other , which is unfortunately giving Avay before the noAV almost universal practice of draining , the Fritillary or Snake ' s-head Lily . This exquisite blossom is said to derive its name from fritillus ( dice-box ) , the common companion of the chequered hoard , the flower being beautifully chequered with pink ancl dull purple . Sir William Hooke derives its other name from the Numidia Meleagris or Pintado , Avhose plumage is chequered in a similar manner . In olden days it Avas called the Guinea-hen or Turkey-hen fioAver ; in

some country places it is still known as the Chequered Daffodil , and in others as the Snake ' s Head , to AA'hich the flower and stem , especially before the fioAver is expanded , certainly have some resemblance . The French call it La Fritillain mileagre , and the Germans Kiebitzey , We have but feAV British species of this tribe of plants , but our gardens are indebted to them for some of their brightest ornaments . We must not pause here to notice them for they are so numerous that old Gerarde said of them , long since : — " All AA'hich to describe particularly , Avere to roll Sisyphus' stone , or to number the sands . "

Ihere is one close ally , though , that Ave must not pass over , for it is a most striking object HOAV Avith its broad green fleshy leaves—not unlike the Lily of the Valley—and its handsome bunches of pure white flowers , AA'e mean the Broad-leaved Garlic , or Bamson , as the country people call it If you gather it beAvave of where you put it , for its odour is simply intolerable . Farmers hate it , for COAVS will readil y eat it , and then the butter and cheese are impregnated Avith a flavour as pungent ancl disagreeable as the odour of the plant . An effective contrast to the Avhite fioAver of the Garlic is found in the purple blossom of

the Early Orchis ; the leaves of this plant are very beautiful , the shape being most elegant , and the colour , green , spotted Avith a purplish brown . Another species , the Spider Orchis , is likewise blooming noAV . During this month Ave shall find the short tendrils of the Spring Vetch upholding its pretty ancl innocent-looking flowers of purple or white . Another flower of this month , seemingly not very generally noticed , is the WEd Wall-flower , of Avhich Gerarde says , " The people in Cheshire doe call it Winter Gill yflower . " Moir , amongst other poets , sings its praises : —

" In the season of the tulip cup , AVhen blossoms clothe the trees , 'Tis sweet to throw the lattice up And scent thee on the breeze ; The butterfly is then abroad , The bee is on the wing , And on the hawthorne by the road The linnets sit and sing . "

Its scientific name is derived from the Arabic . Kheyry , the Dutch call it Violier ancl the Spaniards Violette Amarella . This p lant , although too pungent for human consumption , is still perfectly innoxious . FCAV of our wild floAvers are more admired , perhaps , than the graceful Harebell , bending to every gust of Avind that sweeps over its open haunts ; for , although Ave may DOAV and again find it on the summit of a tall cliff , or on the top of some old wall , it is ever most

plentiful" On the swelling doAvns , where SAveet air stirs The blue-bells lightly , and Avhere prickly furze Buds lavish gold . " Another Blue friend that Ave must HOAV turn our attention to is the beautiful Wild Hyacinth or Blue-Bell . Scarcely a copse that is not carpeted with this handsome flower , for it is to the woods Avhat the Buttercup is to the meadow . NotAvithstanding the beauty

of its flower , the plant is not a harmless , one , for its round root is full of a poisonous clammy juice , indeed this juice exudes from every part of the plant when bruised . Though unfit for food , and useless now , time AA'as Avhen the plant was much prized , for of this juice Avas made a starch wherewith was stiffened the huge ruff ' s of former days ; the bookbinder , too , used to employ it as glue , and fasten with it the covers of Ids volumes . , Another plant , used in a similar way in olden clays , is a close neighbour of the Hyacinth in its growth , AVC mean the Cuckoo-Pint , Wake-Robin , or Lords ancl Ladies , The tuber of this