JUNE. 119 



brown nastm-tium, (Twpceohim major atrosan- 

 guineum.) A flower which, until the last few 

 years, was deemed unfit for the open air, is now 

 a common and beautiful climber on the wire or 

 trellis-work of the garden. This is the canary 

 hirdi ii.o\fQV, {Tropmolum peregriniim,) the little 

 delicate fringed flowerets of which seem ho- 

 vering over the green sprays, as if some pale 

 yellow bird were alighting there beneath their 

 chequered shadows. The nasturtium is quite 

 a Peruvian genus. The flowers of our common 

 species are sometimes eaten as salad, and both 

 these and the young succulent leaves and shoots 

 have a pungent property, which renders them 

 very wholesome. The seeds are very com- 

 monly pickled and used instead of capers. 



During this and the two following months, 

 the plants called slipper Avort, but moi-e gene- 

 rally known by their botanical name of Calce- 

 olaria, are either flowering in the greenhouse 

 or on the garden plot. They are half hardy 

 plants, requiring care in the winter. The 

 greater number have yellow blossoms, and in 

 all, the lower lip of the flower is inflated like a 

 bag, and the form of the whole suggests the 

 idea of a slipper. A few of the species have 

 purple or pink flowers, and sometimes the dark 

 brown tint mingles with the yellow, as in the 

 common wallflower, or they are of a dark rich 

 brown. The different species grow as wild 

 flowers in almost every variety of climate, 

 owing to the various elevations on which they 

 are found. The whole family are natives of South 



