lly in those begun on
that day. Plants with _lady_ attached to their names were in ancient
times dedicated to some goddess; and in Christian times the term was
transferred to the Virgin Mary. Such plants have good qualities,
conferring protection and favour on their possessors.

From the earliest times the _Rose_ has been an emblem of silence.
_Eros_, in the Greek mythology, presents a rose to the god of silence,
and to this day _sub rosa_, or "under the rose," means the keeping of a
secret. Roses were used in very early times as a potent ingredient in
love philters. In Greece it was customary to leave bequests for the
maintenance of rose gardens, a custom which has come down to recent
times. Rose gardens were common during the middle ages. According to
Indian mythology, one of the wives of Vishna was found in a rose. In
Rome it was the custom to bless the rose on a certain Sunday, called
_Rose Sunday_. The custom of blessing the golden rose came into vogue
about the eleventh century. The golden rose thus consecrated was given
to princes as a mark of the Roman Pontifs' favour. In the east it is
still believed that the first rose was generated by a tear of the
prophet Mahomet, and it is further believed that on a certain day in the
year the rose has a heart of gold. In the West of Scotland if a white
rose bloomed in autumn it was a token of early death to some one, but if
a red rose did the same, it was a token of an early marriage. The red
rose, it was said, would not bloom over a grave. If a young girl had
several lovers, and wished to know which of them would be her husband,
she would take a rose leaf for each of her sweethearts, and naming each
leaf after the name of one of her lovers, she would watch them till one
after another they sank, and the last to sink would be her future
husband. Rose leaves thrown upon a fire gave good luck. If a rose bush
were pruned on St. John's eve, it would bloom again in the autumn.
Superstitions respecting the rose are more numerous in England than in
Scotland.

The _Lily_ had a sacredness associated with it, probably on account of
Christ's reference to it. It was employed as a charm against evil
influence, and as an antidote to love philters; but I am not aware of
any of these uses being put in practice during this century.

The four-leaved _Clover_ had extraordinary influence in preserving its
possessor from magical and witch influence, and enabled their possessors
also to see t