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Show \ \-.: ~-: :_, I ·- .. - ··-' , .... • l • • , • 278 RlHNAN'fHERA ' d't to attempt any dom, though it is alr!lOst an absur 1 y of flowers in a sort of reprt>sentatwn of the gem little wood-cut. 1\HINANTHERA. COCCINEA.. · · erhaps found in the Rhinanthera ~occ~ne:h~sw~ods of Cochin China, greatest perfcctwn 1~ China . and much employed though it is common tl g of apartments. But in its the~e in thedor:ntad~~:~sions are more splendid. It native woo s 1 s 1 COCCINEA. 279 not only climbs to the tops of the most lofty trees, but it rises over them; and it so interlaces and festoons them, that the whole forest is hidden ; and when it is in flow er the whole is one mass of crimson and gold, of so intense colour that the eye can hardly bear to look upon it. Then, different from / son,e showy flowers, the scent is as fragrant and refreshing as the colours are brilliant. Nor does it seem that, splendid as this plant is, it is very difficult either to cultivate or to flower. Cochin China, though from the difference of their latitudes a much warmer country than Japan, yet resembles it in some particulars, and as even the fine plants of Japan are very hardy when put to the proof, it is natural to suppose that those of Cochin China should be moderately so. It is true that this Rhinanthera has hitherto been treated only as a stove-plant, and perhaps it may require to be always so treated till it comes into flower ; but after that it may be brought into the house, and suspended from the roof in a porcelain vessel, after the Chinese fashion, and it 1 will there display its beauty for several weeks ; for the flowers are as lasting as they are fine. If left in the dry air, however warm that air may be, it does not flower ; but the method of bringing it into action is to surround the stem with moss, and keep that moss constantly moistened with water. But, in order to find pleasure and profit in the observation of the vegetable tribes, it is not necessary to resort to the tropical forests, notwithstanding the splendour of their appearance ; for the vegetation of every place is so beautifully tempered to the soil, the climate, and the weather of that place, that though some may be more novel than others, it is impossible to say which is the most interesting. If ih one place there is more continual action, there is in the other more activity after the season of repose is over; and where there are the flowers of summer and the fruits of autumn in perpetual sue- |