FOXGLOVE. 1 19 



the flower is beautifully spotted with black, on a whitish 

 ground ; the whole filament is surrounded by yellow an- 

 thers ; the style is simple and supports a bifid stigma ; the 

 seeds are contained in two celled capsules. 



The Foxglove is a native of the South of England, and 

 delights in a shady situation, particularly under trees, but 

 will grow very well in the open ground in any common 

 garden soil. Under these circumstances it must be con- 

 sidered a very desirable plant in the garden, and is so hardy 

 as seldom to be injured by frost. 



To propagate it, the seeds should be sown in the open 

 ground in April, and be transplanted to where it is intended 

 to flower. When the plants acquire a few leaves, they 

 will stand the winter, if sown in the fall ; but there is no 

 advantage gained by sowing in the fall, as they will not 

 flower any earlier. From the facility with which this plant 

 is raised from seed, it is hardly worth while to divide 

 the roots, as is often done with old plants in the fall. 

 Seedlings will produce the best flowers, and my experi- 

 ence leads me to consider it more as a biennial than a 

 perennial. 



The Foxglove possesses medicinal properties, which 

 should be known to those who cultivate it for ornament, 

 as it may prevent bad results, as children at times will pick 

 flowers and leaves and eat them, without the parent being 

 aware of the danger. The flowers are without fragrance ; 

 the leaves, when dried, acquire a narcotic odor, and are a 

 pale green, with a bitter and nauseous taste. When used 

 as a medicine, they may be valuable in a skillful hand, but 

 with empirics may prove a deadly poison. It often hap- 

 pens that this plant, whk n used as a medicine, will not act 



