TRH HELIOTROPE. 79 



unobtrusive beauty. It was the farvourite flower ot Mar- 

 "■aret l'\iller, as the carbuncle was her favourite stone ; for 

 tliat strong-minded woman believed in omens an<l symbols, 

 and possibly in amulets, to avert the evil eye. And it is fit 

 to serve as a symljol or an eml^lem, as to many who are less 

 romantic than the Marchesa d'Ossoli it is a reminder of 

 cherry-pie, api^le-pie, and essence of bitter almonds. There 

 is a point where poetry and prose must meet, and we sup- 

 pose it to be somewhere in the region of facts ; and in 

 that region the heliotrope is an interesting l.teauty, and 

 one of the most desirable plants wherewith to perfume a 

 conservatory or a garden, or to fill a button-hole. 



The place in which the heliotrope displays its qualities 

 best is on the wall of a warm conservator}-, where it will 

 reach a height of four, six, or even ten feet, and produce 

 its fragrant flowers all the winter long. It is best known 

 as a bedding plant in the flower-garden, where it sweetens 

 the evening breeze most delicately. For whatever purpose 

 it may be grown, it should ])e treated as a fender green- 

 house plant. It is less hardy than the pelargonium, the 

 calceolaria, and the petunia ; it should therefore be jilanted 

 last and taken up first, for the slightest touch of frost may 

 f»e fatal to it. But, having sufficient warmth, it is a ver\' 

 accommodating plant, growing freely in any good soil, and 

 best in a rich light loam. The varieties are moRtly of 

 compact habit and dwarf growth, and do not, thi'refore, 

 need any pinching and training when planted o\it, lint may 

 be left to spread and flower in their own way. 



To raise a stock of heliotropes for bedding, it is neces- 

 sary to put a few old plants into a modei-ate heat soon 

 after the turn of the year ; and when these bristle with 

 new shoots, cuttings may be taken and struck in a 



