A few bulbs of this charming plant were sent from California to the Horticultural Society by Mr. Hartweg, and flowered in the Chiswick garden, in a greenhouse. It is, however, hardy, if kept in a place dry in winter. The name onion conveys to an English ear ideas of anything but beauty, for many common species are as ugly as plants well can be, and the handsome kinds are almost unknown in gardens. Nevertheless, in a genus consisting of nearly a couple of hundred species, many may be found which ought to take rank with hyacinths and jonquils; of these moly and the magical onion are well-known examples, though now-a-days confined to curious collections; and the present Tare species is another, much handsomer than either, and probably the queen of the family. Its gay flowers, almost transparent when colorless, and stained with the richest rose-color near the points, can scarcely be regarded as inferior in beauty to the Guernsey Lily itself, and they are far leas fugitive. The plant grows about a foot high, with narrow taper rushy leaves, about as long as the scape.

It is well deserving of cultivation in every border. - T. K. &.,in Gardmer's Chronicle.

From Our Youngest Contributor

It was a place I bad never been to before; and no, thank you. I'd rather not go again. It was like a sea-port town, you know, and everybody got their livings by selling fish; and so I set off to climb a very high hill that was there. And the sun seemed perched at the top of the hill like a great snow-ball, only not the color of snow, and I kept wondering what would become of me if it should chance to roll down.

There was a nice little girl climbing the hill about ten yards ahead of me. A nice little girl! Oh, you know what I mean - she wore ankle-bands, trousers with crochet round them, and one of those all-round-my-hats.

I asked her who was her hatter, and said it was very warm climbing'. ' Miss, may I have the pleasure of giving you a hand up!' and she said: 'Thank you, sir. You are a very polite boy; but, thank you, I haven't far to go.'

No, I didn't see her face; she had one of those hats on, didn't I tell you! but she had a very nice voice, like ma's when she speaks to baby. When we got to the top of the hill, there was a great big fellow waiting for us, and he never said a word, but came and punched me, and when I said: 'What's that for!' he boxed me the second time; and so I said: 'Just do that again - will you?' and he did.

Then the little girl whispered to me that he was her husband, and that I'd better run away, because he had a nack of putting little boys out of their misery, and then pickling them. She said he'd killed more people in his time than he could bury if he were to dig graves twelve hours a day, besides overtime, for sixty years. So I gave him a regular look, and ran down the hill, calling him 'Old Doctor! Old Pills!'

Not the same side of the hill; and I ran straight into an orchard, where there were lots of apple and pear-trees. There was a fellow there who used to go to Cockie Bell's school when I aid, and be was stealing apples. I told him that the Bible says, Thou shalt not steal, and, besides, you'll get caught at it; and just at that moment the old farmer came up, and he said to that fellow that used to go to Cockie Bell's: ' Brimstone!' and to me: 'My little man, I have overheard your very sensible remarks, and I perceive you have had a religious bringing-up.'

And I said: 'Can you sell me sixpenceworth V And he said: 'Of my pears!' And I said: 'Yes, sir, please.' And he said: ' My fine little fellow, we will see - we will see.'

When he was gone, I remembered that I had bought a pennyworth of Turkey nobs out of the sixpence, and when I counted my money, - there, I'd only fivepence!

When he came back with a large dishful of pears, I looked at them and said: ' Haven't you made a mistake, sir? - wasn't it fivepenceworth I said?' and he said: ' Oh, was it, my fine little fellow! Well, then, I've made a mistake; but, as you are a good boy, and have pious parents, you shall have the pears all the same.'

Then he went on digging in a parsley-bed, and I sat down eating the pears, only they had no taste, and he shouted to know if I shouldn't like to play with his little boy: and I said: "What! all about this garden!' And he said: ' Yes.' And I said: 'Oh! shouldn't I though!'

So he took me to his house - a very funny house, and he had no wife, and it was very dirty; and he opened the door of a room, and there was a horrid monster; and he said that was his littleboy - why didn't I speak to him! And so I said: ' Have you any marbles!' And that horrid monster said: 'Oh, lots! Come in; I'll play you.' And I wanted to run away, only I could not; and this creature began letting off fire-wheels on me, and throwing squibs and serpents in my face; and he made me hold my arms straight out, and he rammed them hard, and let them off like cannons, and blew my fingers into a nasty dark pond; and horrid alligators, with red eyes, came and tried to swallow them; and leeches came creeping up my trouser-legs, and they got in my mouth, and down my throat, and up my nose, and some of them curled themselves up in my head, as if they were going to stop there a good while. And that horrid little monster Bat on a bundle of serpents, and they made themselves into an arm-chair for him, and he kept laughing and shouting:' I'll play you - I'll give you sixpenceworth of pears for fivepence.' And some very little red-hot men came and kept jumping through my eyes, and then rolling out of my mouth, follow my leader, and trying who could do it quickest.

And one of them borrowed a pair of hob-nailed shoes, and lay on his back on my tongue, filing at my teeth with them. And another of them kept putting his head out of my left ear-hole, and shouted 'Apples." and then out of my right ear-hole, and shouted 'Pears!'

All at once the side of the room fell down, and there was such a beautiful lady sailing in a large cockle-shell on a lake of very blue water, and she said;'Physio!' and all these demons vanished.

Didn't you guess! Why, that was ma, and she said: ' For goodness' sake, Alfred, dear, why do you moan so pitiably!' And when I told her all about it, she said: ' My love, you have had the nightmare. It is time to take your medicine. Don't go to sleep on your back, or you will have it again.' And I said: ' What! the medicine, ma!' And she said: ' No, dear, the nightmare'. - Chambers' Journal.