l&fDsummer JFlotoers antr Vofces. 281 



has been so long about its task. Less of grace 

 and tenderness it possesses than that of spring, 

 but greater strength of stalk, and more of bold- 

 ness and virility. The phlox, a genus exclusive- 

 ly North American, constitutes, in the large gar- 

 den species, one of our most varied and valuable 

 hardy perennials. America has furnished the 

 phloxes, Europe has hybridized them ; the gar- 

 den perennial phlox, as it is now perfected, hav- 

 ing originated from the tall-growing P. panicu- 

 lata and its varieties, and the lower-growing 

 P. maculata. That such brilliant varieties as 

 " Lothair," and some others, are the result of a 

 cross with P. Drummondii, would not seem 

 improbable. The decussata class embraces the 

 taller-growing varieties, the suffruticosa the 

 smaller. 



The hybridized phlox has its own gamut of 

 colors, like the hybridized azalea hues and tints 

 possessed by no other flower. These glowing 

 shades of salmon, rose, and vermilion, together 

 with the numerous pure white and creamy-white 

 varieties, are the more striking from the grand 

 flower-trusses and the tall stalks upon which 

 they are placed. The phlox may be termed a 

 necessary garden-flower. It is easy to grow, of 

 hardy, vigorous habit, and there is no other 

 perennial to supply its place. The largest truss- 

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