180 FLORA HISTORICA. 



may more readily ripen the seed vessels ; but, as 

 fresli flowers continue to open in a regular succes- 

 sion upwards from the month of June to September, 

 the beauty of the plant is continued for a longer 

 period than that of most other towering flowers. 



The variety of Fox-Glove with white flowers is 

 perhaps one of the greatest enliveners to plantations 

 of evergreen shrubs that can be placed amongst 

 them ; and when planted amongst the common 

 laurel, the effect reminds us of a magnified border 

 of Lilies of the Valley. 



The white-blossomed variety of the Digitalis is 

 not permanent, and we presume it was first obtained 

 through the means of cultivation, or an accidental 

 change of soil, M'hich would be analogous to it, 

 since we have observed that the seeds of this variety, 

 which we sowed some years back, produced numer- 

 ous plants, all of which blossomed with white 

 flowers. From the seed that these plants scattered 

 numerous young plants sprung up, all of which 

 bore flowers of the common red purple colour ; but 

 the seeds that had been saved from the white-blos- 

 somed plants, and sowed the following year, gave 

 plants with white corollas. Thus it is clear that 

 some seeds, by being kept out of the ground be- 

 yond the course allotted by Nature, lose a part of 

 their natural properties, as we shall notice more 

 fully under the head of the Carnation Poppy. 



