160 EFFECTS OF A RAINY SEASON. [SEPT. 



My dahlias are now in full bloom, though I 

 cannot say they are as fine as I have had them 

 in some seasons ; this I attribute to the quantity 

 of rain that has fallen this year : it was the same 

 with the China asters ; they, like all the tender 

 annuals, grew so much after they were planted 

 out, that they became too large and coarse, ex- 

 pended their strength in foliage, and flowered 

 indifferently. 



Besides many of the plants which I mention- 

 ed in my last as being in flower, I have now 

 Phlox pyramidalis, Aster amellus, and the Ca- 

 rolina lily: these, added to the dahlias and a 

 few hardy annuals sown late, keep up the re- 

 putation of my garden very well. Among the 

 most delightful flowers in bloom, at this season, 

 I consider the Liatris elegans (gay feather) to 

 hold a high rank. There is a description of 

 violet, the Russian, which is very valuable, since 



