98 FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOWEItS. 



plant has longer sj)urs and a deeper yellow colour than the 

 older A. leploceras. 



From this lovely yellow columbine that expert florist, 

 Mr. Douglas, has obtained a series of hybrids of many 

 shades of colour, and for the most part characterised by 

 long spurs, all of them extremely beautiful. He appears 

 to have crossed them in all possible waj^s with other 

 species, and some of the hybrids have characters that might 

 be deemed specific. They are all hardy, and they may all 

 be raised from seed ; and they are as worthy of specimen 

 cultivation for exhibition purposes as any of the hardy 

 plants in our gardens. Moreover, they are sweet-scented, 

 which adds to their value considerably. 



To raise any of the columbines from seed is a very 

 easy task. The seed should be sown in pans or boxes, 

 ailed with light rich soil, in the months of April, May, or 

 June. The proper place for the pans or boxes is a cold 

 fi'ame, where they should be kept moist and dark until the 

 plants appear, from which time they should have air and 

 light abundantly. When one or two inches high they 

 should be pricked out into other boxes, to give them more 

 room. A bed in a frame, or even a prepared place on an 

 open border, may be more convenient for the purpose ; and 

 in any case they must be kept hardy by exposure, although 

 it \\\\[ be prudent to watch them, that they may not suffer 

 from drought, and not less important, to save them from 

 being devoured by slugs, which appear to be always ready 

 at hand to sweep off all sorts of plants newly put out from 

 frames. When quite strong in these quarters, say from the 

 middle of August to the middle of September, they should 

 all be planted out where they are required to flower the 

 next year. If managed with reasonable care, they will 



