142 GAKDEN I'LOWKKS. 



this colouring matter the womeu also blacken 

 their hair aud eyebrows. 



One of the -very few plants of the hibiscus 

 triloe which is quite hardy, is the common 

 bladder ketmia, (Hibiscus h'iomiin,) or Venice 

 mallow, sometimes called buff-colom-ed mallow, 

 from its flowers, which are also striped Avith 

 brown veins. It is a native of Italy and Austria, 

 and was called by the old writers, " Good night 

 at noon." If we are to believe Gerarde, how- 

 ever, still shorter than this name would imply, 

 is its little hour of beauty, for he says, " it opens 

 at eight in the morning, and closes again at 

 nine." Many persons who have had it. in their 

 gardens have never seen it flower, for though it 

 is sometimes open so late as three o'clock in the 

 day, yet, unless the weather be clear and 

 bright, many days will pass by, and it will 

 remain folded up, Avaiting for the sunshine. 



The common corn flag (Gladiolus communis) 

 is too tall a flower to be overlooked, and it has 

 a long spike of bells, of elegant shape and 

 bright pink colour. Several varieties of this 

 species are in cultivation, but some of the less 

 general kinds are more briUiant in colour. The 

 superb corn flag (Gladiolus cavdinalis) has 

 rich scarlet flowers, spotted with white, and the 

 different orange - coloured species are very 

 showy. Almost all our garden gladioli are 

 natives of the Cape of Good Hope ; but these 

 flowers are not hmited to that part of Africa, 

 but are to be found scattered over the vast 

 deserts of that country. Backhouse describes 



