Flowers in Colorado. 



star, finer and daintier than the Italian cyclamen; its sharp- 

 pointed petals of bright pink fold back like rosy ears ; in its 

 centre is a dark-brown circle round a sharp needle-point of 

 yellow. There are many more, but of all the rest I will 

 speak only of one, the great yellow columbine. This 

 grows in the ravines. The flower is like our garden colum- 

 bine, but larger, and of an exquisite yellow, sometimes with 

 white in the centre. It grows here in such luxuriant tufts 

 and clumps that you will often find thirty and forty flower- 

 stems springing up from one root. Of this plant I recollect 

 the botanical name, which was told me only once, but I could 

 no more forget it than, if I had once sat familiarly by a 

 queen in her palace, I could forget the name of her king- 

 dom. It is the golden columbine of New Mexico, the 

 aquilegia chrysantha. 



When we drive down from " our garden " there is sel- 

 dom room for another flower in our carriage. The top 

 thrown back is filled, the space in front of the driver is 

 filled, and our laps and baskets are filled with the more 

 delicate blossoms. We look as if we were on our way to 

 the ceremonies of Decoration Day. So we are. All June 

 days are decoration days in Colorado Springs, but it is the 

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