DWARF HYBRIDS 83 



and by the fact that a stem is always present. This may 

 vary from i to 2 inches to nearly a foot in height, accord- 

 ing to the conditions under which the plants grow. In 

 the South of France, the smallest forms are found in open 

 positions on dry, limestone formation, while in half-shade, 

 or where the soil has collected in a hollow and formed a 

 richer bed, other forms occur which are two or three times 

 as large, but which differ in no other particular. In 

 cultivation under uniform conditions this difference dis- 

 appears, and we get a series of plants having stems of about 

 6 to 10 inches in length and bearing one or two flowers. 

 The leaves are usually slightly shorter than the stems at 

 flowering time, and the plants are very floriferous, besides 

 providing us with flowers of very different colours blue- 

 purple, claret-purple, yellow, white, and various combina- 

 tions of these shades. Another peculiarity of /. chamceiris 

 and one which need not surprise us when we contrast 

 the different conditions that prevail in winter in the South 

 of France and in Northern Italy with those that are ex- 

 perienced on the hills near the Danube is that the leaves 

 remain more or less green throughout the winter. In fact 

 the plants may almost be called evergreen, and not un- 

 naturally, therefore, the wild plants when introduced into 

 our gardens do not prove to be quite so hardy as /. pumila. 

 However, so many varieties of these dwarf hybrids of 

 /. chamceiris are now obtainable that a visit to any good 

 nursery garden will almost certainly lead to the discovery 

 of plants of the colour desired. It is impossible to give 

 any list of names here, for each catalogue seems to have 

 a list of its own, and thus the only way to make certain 

 of getting what is required is to see the plants in flower 



