Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 February 1886 — Flower Superstitions. [ARTICLE]

Flower Superstitions.

A reverence for flowers is found in all countries. Even you would not have the temerity to doubt the good fortune that comes to the finder of the four-leaved clover. Among the Hindoos all bright-colored flowers are con ■ sidered suitable offerings to the gods, either from historical associations or because they have some fancied resemblance to some revered objects. Th'tts, the trimurti, that corresponds to onr trinity, has two plants dedicated especially to it; one is the cratseva, and the other bael tree- Both have trifoliate leaves, like the shamrock, that is also considered to represent the trinity. One of the first legends that you hear in India is that of Krishna; a variety of basil is sacred to him and to Vishnu alsp. Equally interesting is the esythrina indica, that all truly religious Hindoos believe bloomed in the garden of Indra, in ~ Heaven. Krishna is supposed to have stolen it from there; hence it is under a curse, and is and considered the meanest of all flowers. In Hindoo mythology the ! five flowers of love stand ont prominently. Kamadeva is their Cupid, and he is supposed to have tipped each one of his arrows with these flowers, most of which can be seen in the private collections in and about New York. Tliey are the i the mango, the bulla, the oledring-mit flower, and the white nagYorkJPost.