ROCKET LARKSPUR. 227 



ROCKET LARKSPUR. 



(DELPHINIUM AJACIS.) 



This is a beautiful annual for the flower garden, grow- 

 ing about eighteen inches high, of various colors, and all 

 double, flowering from May to June. Like many other 

 valuable annuals, it succeeds best if sown in the fall, 

 drilled in rows, in a bed ; and, if lightly protected in mid 

 winter, will, in the spring, give the garden as much gran- 

 deur as a bed of Tulips. There are a number of other 

 varieties in cultivation, some perennial ; but the Rocket is 

 decidedly the best, and easily cultivated. The soil should 

 be rich ; never sow them in the same bed the second sea- 

 son, as the Larkspur is a great deteriorator of soil. In the 

 spring a second sowing should be made ; they will thus 

 be in flower at different periods. 



