CHAP. 23.—THE AMARANTH.

There is no doubt that all the efforts of art are surpassed by the amaranth,[1] which is, to speak correctly, rather a purple ear[2] than a flower, and, at the same time, quite inodorous. It is a marvellous feature in this plant, that it takes a delight in being gathered; indeed, the more it is plucked, the better it grows. It comes into flower in the month of August, and lasts throughout the autumn. The finest of all is the amaranth of Alexandria, which is generally gathered for keeping; for it is a really marvellous[3] fact, that when all the other flowers have gone out, the amaranth, upon being dipped in water, comes to life again: it is used also for making winter chaplets. The peculiar quality of the amaranth is sufficiently indicated by its name, it having been so called from the circumstance that it never fades.[4]

1. The Celosia cristata of Linnæus.

2. "Spica." The moderns have been enabled to equal the velvety appearance of the amaranth in the tints imparted by them to their velvets. The Italians call it the "velvet-flower."

3. The real fact is, that the amaranth, being naturally a dry flower, and having little humidity to lose, keeps better than most others.

4. From the Greek a), "not," and mara/inesqai, "to fade."