194 BRECK'S BOOK OF FLOWERS. 



border the 10th of May. It is undoubtedly one of the finest 

 species of the tribe ; no other one will compare with it. It is 

 robust in its habit, throwing out large lateral branches, the 

 plant growing three feet high, producing an immense profusion 

 of flowers from the first of August till destroyed by frost. The 

 flowers are large, resembling the Gloxinia, thick-set on spikes, 

 and are of a delicate rosy lilac, blotched and shaded with bright 

 crimson, with an agreeable odor. The foliage is thick, more 

 soft and velvety than the above-described species. The seed- 

 capsules add much to the appearance of the plant. 



MATHIOLA. 



Gillyflower. 



This genus contains many beautiful species and varieties 

 of plants, with fragrant, handsome flowers, which have been so 

 much hybridized by florists, that it would puzzle a botanist to 

 define the species in most of the cultivated ''sorts. The Ger- 

 man stocks are very much celebrated for the great variety of 

 their color and size of their flowers. 



I give Cobbett's description and mode of cultivation of this 

 fine tribe : 



" If I were to choose amongst all the biennials and annuals, 

 I should certainly choose the Stock. Elegant leaf, elegant 

 plant, beautiful, showy, and most fragrant flower ; and, with 

 suitable attention, blooms, even in the natural ground, from May 

 to November in England, and from June to November here. 



" The annuals are called the Ten Week Stocks. And of 

 these there are, with a pea-green leaf, the red, white, purple, 

 and scarlet ; and then, there are all the same colors with a 

 wall flower, or sea-green leaf. 



" Of the biennials, there are the Brompton, of which there 

 are the scarlet and the white ; and the Twickenham, which is 

 purple. 



" As to propagation, it is of course by seed only. If there 



