JUNE 111 



in some gardens, not in all, learnt the trick of biting 

 through the neck from outside, and so gaining bur- 

 glarious access to the sweets. 



From the opposite side of the globe to the Mexican 

 sage comes Roscoea purpurea, a Himalayan herb, in no 

 degree akin to the other, for it belongs to the Ginger 

 family. Yet it has acquired an arrangement of levers 

 very similar in design and purpose to those of the blue 

 salvia. The flower is of a vivid purple hue, and 

 possesses six stamens, but, as in the sage, only two of 

 these carry anthers. Two others are flattened out so 

 as to form a white hood protecting the anthers, while 

 the third pair project across the throat of the flower, 

 acting as levers when pressed back by a bee or other 

 large insect to bring down the anthers, which discharge 

 their pollen on its back. 



XXVII 



The most brilliant herb in the borders just now (9th 

 June) is Hippeastrum pratense, better known June 

 by its old name of Habranthus. This Chilian Rowers 

 bulb has not hitherto been appreciated by amateurs 

 as it deserves; at all events, one may visit fifty or one 

 hundred gardens in succession at this season and never 

 be cheered by its flame. Yet it is perfectly hardy, 

 except perhaps in the coldest parts of our island, and 

 produces plenty of offsets for propagation. But the 

 hue of its graceful blossoms is so flagrant dazzling 

 orange scarlet that one has to be careful about the 

 company assigned to it. Last year I removed a clump 

 from below a sunny south wall, because its blossom 



