1/2 LOBELIACE.^. 



aquatic, and found in only a few of the lakes in the three great 

 divisions of the kingdom, may be regarded as a merely local 

 plant in this country. The reputation of the genus for orna- 

 mental purposes is deservedly very high. There is indeed little 

 contained in it that may be condemned as weedy or uninterest- 

 ing ; while of many species and varieties it may be correctly 

 said they are unsurpassed for brilliancy of colouring and adapt- 

 ability to every style of flower-gardening, whether rustic or 

 refined, ribbon or panel, masses of one colour or mixtures of 

 many colours, on any scalej small or great, from the humble 

 patch in the cottager's mixed bed or border, to the thousands 

 that adorn the gardens of the rich and luxurious. But until 

 very recently little has been heard and less seen of Lobelias in 

 this country, except in so far as the justly popular L. erinus 

 and its several excellent varieties, or the pretty annual L. 

 gracilis or ca7?ipanulaia, have brought them into view. It is 

 refreshing, however, to observe that the tide of popular favour 

 is now fairly setting in the direction of the old-fashioned and 

 long-neglected tall herbaceous species, whose striking aspect 

 and sparkling colours are unfamiliar to the majority of young 

 gardeners, but will be pleasingly remembered, either as pot or 

 border plants, by older men. Scarlet and crimson, blue and 

 purple, in various shades, and white, were the sum of the 

 colours of these tall Lobelias, till within a few years ago ; but 

 they have recently yielded to the art of the florist, and now 

 we have varieties in carmine, cerise, claret, magenta, pink, 

 ruby, with many shades of purple and scarlet and crimson, 

 while these are varied still more in certain varieties with white. 

 There is also in some sorts an increase in the size of the indi- 

 vidual flowers, and there is greater variety in habit. Some 

 varieties are dwarf and diffuse, others tall and strict; and in 

 this respect there Avill soon, perhaps, be such diversity of 

 character as will render Lobelias of this section adaptable to 

 very general use in bedding out. As subjects for the mixed 

 border, nothing can surpass these tall perennial Lobelias ; and 

 it is astonishing that the species and the older varieties should 

 ever have been allowed to fall into disuse for that purpose, for 

 under good cultivation they are striking, bold, and handsome. 

 Their cultivation is a very simple matter. From the combined 

 influences of cold and wet the soft succulent underground 

 stems are liable to perish in winter if left out of doors where 

 they grow, unprotected ; protection of some sort is therefore 

 necessar}^ Some leave them where they made their growth 

 till spring, protecting them with a mound of coal-ashes or any 

 other available protecting materials ; others lift them as soon 



