THE BLUE SAGE. 
Salvia patens, 
Ny 
\ << HE hght of other days is faded, 
and the blue salvia is no longer 
in igh renown as a wonder 
amongst bedding plants. It 
has filled as many pages of 
print as the crimson flax, but 
now the horticultural writers 
have nothing to say about it, 
and appear, indeed, to have for- 
gotten its gay existence. It 
might have been famous to this 
day if it could but have 
stooped to conquer, but it was 
always too tall for its place, 
i: and earried its colours care- 
| lessly, as if seeking the bubble 
a reputation were a pastime for 
such meaner ones as without 
seeking would never outwin reputation at all. But we 
must be wise about it, and endeavour to earn our wages. 
The blue salvia is a tall-growine, loosely-branched, un- 
tidy plant that may be grown equally well in the green- 
house or the stove. For summer bloom the greenhouse 
suffices, and during the warmer portions of the summer 
