iSyi.] AMERICAN WILD-FLOWERS. 267 



such vigour may be retained by proper treatment. At all events, 

 unless we are to look upon good Grape-growing as an accident alto- 

 gether, size of bunch will always command its share of admiration as 

 an evidence of cultural skill. J. Simpson. 



THE GAYEST OF AMERICAN WILD-FLOWERS. 



I AM going to write an account of the members of the American Flora 

 which are famous for beauty and fit for British gardens. At the pre- 

 sent time, when herbaceous and alpine plants are fast becoming fashion- 

 able, and the ordinary system of bedding is giving up part of the pro- 

 minent position it held a few years ago, I feel sure that any information 

 regarding the fresh candidates for admiration will be welcome to many. 

 My remarks will all be the result of observations taken amidst the living 

 realities just as these occur in their native haunts. It may take a long 

 time for me to accomplish this undertaking, but if I am spared I shall 

 proceed steadily until my task is finished, and always endeavour to do 

 my work faithfully. 



In Kentucky, one of the earliest of the flowers of spring is Claytonia 

 virginica, or Spring-beauty, or Glad-tidings. It may be in England or 

 Scotland, but I never saw it there ; and yet it should be grown every- 

 where, for it is one of the most perfect little gems imaginable. No 

 spot comes amiss to it, and it is the Daisy of this region. Woods, in 

 which the soil is a rich deep loam, furnish all it desires, but it is not 

 in the least afraid to take the open pastures where the soil is as hard 

 as a road, and it is quite plentiful on cultivated ground. Claytonia 

 perfoliata and Claytonia sibirica are common in European gardens, but 

 they have the misfortune to be annuals. This species has the great 

 advantage of being perennial ; and the corm which enables it to be so 

 is sometimes buried 2 inches underground. The leaves are linear- 

 lanceolate, and have a good deal of succulency about them. A speci- 

 men which is 5 inches above the ground may be considered rather 

 more than the average size. The stem bears at its apex a considerable 

 raceme of flowers, and a little way down are a couple of opposite 

 leaves. The corolla is about as large as that of an ordinary scarlet 

 Pelargonium, and the petals are very neat and spreading, white, or 

 between white and a delicate pink, with a little yellow near the base. 

 The veins of the petals are rose-coloured, and then the blossoms glisten 

 when the sunlight plays upon them. The anthers are of a rich red 

 tint. I cannot describe the charm which this little plant gives to the 

 places in which it abounds. 



By the side of the preceding grows Viola cucullata, and it, too, is at 



