110 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



we are obliged to linger. The tropical air, the warm fra- 

 grance, the lavish color or lush verdancy woo us to re- 

 main. It is good for one to step out of the sleet and slush 

 into this atmosphere of perpetual summer. Look at those 

 yellow trumpets of Oxalis. Have they not caught and 

 held the glory of the sun. In it they revel, uncurling their 

 delicate satiny petals only under its influence. See that 

 shell full of Chinese primroses, each flower scalloped and 

 fluted as by an artist. What beautiful leaves they have 

 too! Indeed, enough attention is not paid to leaves, the 

 most variable of plant organs, excjuisite often in texture 

 and outline, and veining. Flowers are, at best, evanescent ; 

 but the leaves, in a conservatory, we have ever with us, 

 from the picturesque blades of calla, to the mistj^ foliage 

 oi Acacia, or the dream of maiden-hair. We like to cut a 

 lot of them, maybe drawing their details — or studjdng 

 their details — or studying their structure. There can be 

 no better models for nature sketching. 



The gardener may tell j^ou that just now there are but 

 few flowers in bloom. Let us see. .There are pinks, rang- 

 ing from pure white through delicate salmon color to 

 yellow and deep crimson. Some of them are deliciously 

 perfumed. There are the long red, white or pink trumpets 

 ofBouvardia a very wealth of bloom ; the pure clusters of 

 fragrant Freesia; the ever lovely and odorous Daphne; 

 the umbels of Pelargonum, and the abundant bloom of 

 Azalea. 



Take a turn down this low chamber, where the snow 

 is sliding on the roof above. What is this odor of spring? 

 Violets ? Yes, there they are, nestling in a corner as on 

 some April bank. 



Nature must have smiled when she made a violet. She 

 made Yankee ones and for some inscrutable reason omit- 

 ted the perfume loved of Shakspeare. Otherwise their 

 graces are incomparable. What are those bizarre-looking 

 plants airil3^ perched on "Coignes of vantage?" Our 

 guide tells us they are orchids, a family renowned for its 

 odd forms, superb and diverse coloring and marvelous 



