1JM) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



plants, having, it is said, nearly a thousand different kinds 



known to botanists. 



Senecio Japonica is one of the handsomest members 

 of the family. It is of striking 

 habit, grows five feet high, with 

 leaves nearly a foot across, divided 

 into nearly a dozen divisions. The 

 flower-heads are about three inches 

 across with the narrow outer florets 

 of a rich orange color. It is a moist- 

 ure-loving plant, and should be 

 grown in rich, moderately stiff, loam. 

 The SilpJiiums are large-growing 

 coarse plants, with sunflower-like 

 blossoms, in summer requiring places 

 in the background with plenty of 

 room. 8. laciniatum is the largest 

 and most showy of the family. Dr. 

 Asa Gray writes of this plant : " On 

 the wide, open prairies the leaves 

 are said to present their edges uni- 

 formly north and south, whence it 

 is called the compass-plant." The 

 Solidagos, golden-rods, present one 

 of the most characteristic and fa- 

 miliar flowers of the United States, 

 and should be planted in clumps like 

 the SilpJiiums where their graceful 



habit and masses of yellow flowers will display their beauty 



effectively. In the eyes of most they are weeds, but in cer- 



COMPASS PLANT. 



(SILPHIUM LACINIATUM.) 



