288 Ct)e Barton's 



ous but common opinion that the flowers always 

 turn their faces toward the sun. The appella- 

 tion is appropriate, notwithstanding; for there 

 are few brighter, more sun-loving flowers than 

 this extensive tribe of the composites. The spe- 

 cies grow mostly from four to twelve feet high, 

 and are characterized by their large, showy, yel- 

 low flowers, the largest being H. annuus, the 

 well-known Peruvian annual. The Helianthus 

 is coarser than numerous other garden favorites ; 

 and while many of the species undoubtedly are 

 better adapted for the wild garden, there are 

 still a number well deserving a place in the 

 flower-border and shrubbery. To combine size, 

 hardiness, and luxuriant bloom, one must some- 

 times put up with coarseness ; and any weedy 

 appearance of the perennial sunflowers is more 

 than atoned for by the gayety many of the spe- 

 cies impart to the garden at a time when they 

 are really required. To the sub-tribe of the 

 Helianthea, included in the tribe Asteroidea, 

 belong also the Heliopsis, Rudbeckia, Echina- 

 cea, and Coreopsis, mostly perennials in the style 

 of Helianthus. From all of these we have a 

 great mass of yellow autumnal blossom not to 

 be dispensed with. All the sunflowers grow 

 well in any common garden soil, most of them 

 being easily raised from seed, while many read- 



