THE rENTSTEMON. 75 



quantity. But the ineffective kinds are easily got rid of 

 by the simple process of destroying tliem; and when the 

 seedlings are judiciously selected, we have as the result 

 a race of flowers resplendent in beauty, and of immense 

 interest because of their never-ending variations. To 

 the florist one great source of charm is this tendency to 

 variation. It matters not how beautiful a flower may be 

 in its original state if it refuses to undergo modifications 

 when cultivated. The great hope of the florist is to work 

 changes on the types that nature offers to his notice, and 

 when he finds this cannot be done his interest is dimin 

 nished ; and, in fact, there is no such thing as a " dorist^'s 

 flower " that is everywhere and always alike. The very 

 essence of floriculture is to be found in floral mutation, 

 although there must be something more than that to 

 ensure for any flower a lasting popularity. The pentstemon 

 varies delightfully, hence there is great pleasure to be 

 found in raising seedlings, and the few who have hitherto 

 practised this system have had a great run of good luck in 

 secui'ing varieties of fine character and good constitution. 



The pentstemon belongs to the section of Figworts 

 {Scrophularinece) , and has for near relations the calceolaria, 

 schizanthus, verbascum, antirrhinum, paulownia, chelone, 

 digitalis, and mimulus — a most interesting lot, but as 

 regards their qualities rather suspicious, and but rarely 

 of any important use either in medicine or the arts. The 

 best known in respect of utility is the foxglove {dii/italifi), 

 which affords a powerful drug, and may properly rank as 

 the finest of all our British wild flowers. It is sometimes 

 spoken of as the British gloxinia and the British pentste- 

 mon, and in the range of the colouring of its flowers it 

 comes near to the beautiful plant before lis. 



