DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF FLOWERS. 269 



Woodville says its virtues have not been confirmed by 

 any instance of European practice." Stem erect, two 

 feet high ; raceme leafy, with flowers of a bright sky- 

 blue. L. speciosa, of the gardens, is either a variety of 

 this, or a hybrid between this and another species. 



The treatment for those above enumerated is the same. 

 I once had L. cardinalis, fulgens, and speciosa, in great 

 perfection, having a soil and situation well adapted to 

 their growth, with a little preparation. The soil, natur- 

 ally, was a black, heavy loam, upon a clay and gravel 

 subsoil, a little springy, and never very dry. Upon the 

 spots designed for their location, I threw four or five 

 shovelfuls of river-sand, and two of partly decomposed 

 night-soil compost, and had it thoroughly incorporated 

 with the soil, for two feet around, which made it quite 

 light, and placed the plants in the center. They began 

 to flower in July, and continued to throw up vigorous 

 stems, with an abundance of flowers, until October. 

 Their growth was so luxuriant, that it was necessary to 

 tie them up to slender rods, stuck into the ground, a num- 

 ber of times, to prevent them from being broken by the 

 wind. L. cardinalis and L.fulgens were more than three 

 feet high ; the others between two and three feet. They 

 may be easily propagated, by laying the stems in July 

 and August, or dividing the roots in the spring, or by 

 seed. 



"Van Mons observes that L. cardinalis perishes in 

 sandy soil, but becomes strong and multiplies in loam, 

 while, at the same time, it produces the most brilliant 

 colors in the former. 



" The same thing may doubtless be predicted of the 

 other species, it being a well-known law of nature, as to 

 living beings, that their energies are concentrated in pro- 

 portion to the obstacles thrown in the way of their ex- 

 pansion." 



