HEALTH FROM FLOWERS.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 275, 14 February 1874, Page 2

HEALTH FROM FLOWERS.

Orn instinct 1< ads us to delight in flower*. Their beaut; anil perfume hnre irresistible ni traction* for us We nave htile rtr««ii'nt tl'tt \»c «irr' thuj led to surround ourselves with ob|et.s \\i 'oil mi- -t p >«ftrliillr oonduoe to h«aitn. No doubt t lie. c ar»- oeiinin member* of th-i vgetable kingdom wHeh aie exceedingly <lt)t lei.ous ; for, not 10 fcpeafc of the inucli-dioß<!(d upa« tin We.t 1.-.h. »i wim-bine/il, and some species of tlio AiiuTiPiui Kluis, iheri- are -om« oi cur common sweet K-tnted flowers, -mcli as tlte lmzeron, which hive very injurious piopeitics. Bui recent investigation ha* proml that these ndornmcnfs of our cardens. for the pretence of \»hic'-i we so crnrf, ure ( aa u rule, endowed with hea!tii- ( >re aerviup qur-lities. Ongen, wht-n nighljr electrified, m>\ to render**! sp«oiftlij vitnUaijmt has in rv«ont times '>•«» dUtinKuioU-d Dv H»«nii'ne of ozone. Thi«. is oni» of the chiet flementi of a ho.ilthv ntmoDphere. Now tvnturira ago it wus known that ccrttiin phwts acted ns powerful disinfectant', Tliun Herodian tell? us that, when in the woond cent urj the plauue rijifd in Itnlv, the plijsicinns rroommended tho»4 who crowded into Rome to go to Laurel turn, beoiiUM them the swt-ot. bur tieo Lasints nobilis urow in great abundnneo, anil the inhalaticn of air unpirutiated with it» odour* w«« a •trong preservative agtinst inftttion. And the ditciplea ot Empedocles were Hunt to grow aromatic and balsamic herbs a ound their dwelling, fron the belief that they were thus guarding themfelvea agaMiel fevers, aguef, and §ueh like. Haj not too, nmonjf us, the tmdition of ite ferer dispelling power qi Ten the name of leier few to one of the utrongeitscented of the (Joinpobita?? R»'cent in\estifi«tion!>, espccinllv thone of Professor Montegn2za, of Padua, and Dr CorneliUH Fox, have shown that these old idem* were ba»ed on Boientific truth. It ii now ascertained thnt the quantity of ozone i« materially incrt>»*e<i by the exposure to the ray* of the bun of furious plant*, amongit which the mott common are the Invender, inu»k, cherry laurel, clo?e fennel, narcissu*, heliuttope, hyac.nth, and mignonette. It is interesting to know that the sunflower, «hich will grow almost. anyv»bcre, and could be turned to various useful purpose, is one of the most vi,luafle of sanitary agents, since not only is it ozoniparou«, but nl«o destroy* deleterious uiiasmntn. Ii ahould be noted, as a further proof of the good influence of plant culture on health, that, while the manufacture of ozone is an independent work carried on by the flower* alone, the green Uarei are performiug th«*ir sanitary functions by extracting carbonic acid gus from the atmosphere, and helping to preserve that proportion in its element* which make* it healthful. Mora remarkable pet haps, than all, \$ the eucalyptus, of which «c hare recently heurd »o much, and of which we •hall soon know more. Thus the cultivation of flowem is a work not merely delightful and humanising in itself, but one which, in a way most beautiful and picturesque, confer* a positiro benefit on ticiety so great that it (an hard It be overrated, etpeoially in largo to*\n% nhct) there must naeossarily bo »o mucii to poison And deteriorate the air we breathe.