182 THE ELOEAL WORLD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



AQUILEGIA GLANDULOSA. 



[,HB stock from which I cultivate this beautiful flower 

 was raised from seeds produced about ten years ago, 

 from a plant which appeared much more robust in 

 habit than common, being taller iu growth and larger 

 in the blossoms than any other of the species which I 

 had previously observed. Plants may be multiplied by cuttings, 

 and by dividing old roots, but these never flower freely, and are uu- 

 worthy of cultivation. Propagation by seed is the only method 

 practised here ; and it is worthy of remark that, unlike other Aqui- 

 legias, seeds of this plant have never been known to produce many 

 varieties ; and difference even in strength of growth or size, under 

 the same treatment, is very rare. 



Sometimes a double-blossomed plant is to be met with, but it 

 has been found that that distinction is neither permanent in the 

 plant itself, nor in the seedlings it may produce. Of many thou- 

 sands of seedlings in bloom here, I cannot perceive the slightest 

 variety. As this Aquilegia is quite hardy, it is cultivated as an open 

 ground plant, and from the middle of May to the end of June, it 

 is by far the most gay and attractive object of the season. The 

 flower-stalks usually rise to the average height of from fifteen to 

 twenty inches, and very seldom exceed two feet. Seedlings some- 

 times flower the second, but mere commonly during the third 

 summer of their growth. The first time the plant generally yields 

 eight or ten blossoms, and for several years the number increases 

 greatly. I have just counted seventy-five on a plant six years old. 

 When plants attain the age of seven or eight years, they generally 

 get exhausted, when their flowering becomes very uncertain, and 

 only here and there a flower-stalk is produced ; consequently such 

 are unfit for forming a bed or clump in the flower garden. 



The ground should, therefore, be cleared of the old roots, and 

 young plants inserted. The seeds of this plant are usually ripe 

 about the beginning of the autumn, and may be sown any time before 

 the end of March ; when sown in autumn, some plants generally 

 appear above ground in a few weeks, but the principal part commonly 

 remains dormant until spring. Such as get up in autumn generally 

 require to be protected, lest they be ejected by severe frost during 

 winter. 



It is not unusual for seeds of this plant to vegetate after remain- 

 ing in the ground for twelve months. In a bed where a moist heat 

 is applied, the seeds spring more readily, but under any circum- 

 stances they are more stiff to vegetate than any other Aquilegia, 

 and rise far more unequal than any other plant we know. The 

 ground for seed should be rich and friable ; moisture and shade are 

 found to be preferable to deep covering. 



The soil which I have found most suitable for the growth of the 

 flower, is a rich mellow earth, partaking a little of bog or peat earth, 

 and rather cool and moist than otherwise, approaching to that 

 usually termed swampy. In such, I have had the same plants 



