FEBRUARY. 17 



mound and mossy root. The shades of blue 

 are very various and delicate, the white anthers 

 forming a lovely contrast with the blue petals." 



The lilac double primroses are now A'ery 

 ornamental, as are also the red, white, and 

 flesh-coloured varieties. All the primroses are 

 valued for their early bloom, but our own "\\dld 

 sulphur-coloured kind is the prettiest of them 

 all, though it is seen to more advantage bloom- 

 ing in the wood among the withered leaves 

 than in the garden bed. 



In some gardens the dark red flowers of the 

 species of gladiolus called Watson's corn-flag, 

 {^Gladiolus J-Fatsonhis,) are already in bloom. 

 It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope. This 

 tribe of plants is obtained almost solely from 

 Southern Africa, and the large bulbous roots 

 arc a common food of the Hottentots. 



The brightly-blushing flowers of the Japan 

 quince (Cydonia Japonica) redden among the 

 dark leaves of the bush on Avhich they grow. 

 This is a beautiful plant, with flowers of all 

 tints, from the faintest pink to a rich deep 

 scarlet colour. It is a favourite shrub of the 

 Japanese, who are remarkable, not only for 

 their general love of flowers, but for the atten- 

 tion which they have paid to the science of 

 botany. The traveller Siedbold, who spent 

 some time in this island, says that in no country 

 out of Europe is botany so much regarded as 

 there and in China. He enumerates ten 

 Japanese books on the science, which have been 

 printed and illustrated by coloured plates. 



