DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF FLOWERS. 269 
Woodville says its virtues have not been confirmed by 
any instance of European practice.” Stem erect, two 
feet high; raceme leafy, with flowers of a bright sky- 
blue. TZ. speciosa, of the gardens, is either a variety of 
this, or a hybrid between this and another species. 
The treatment for those above enumerated is the same. 
I once had Z. cardinalis, fulgens, and speciosa, in great 
perfection, having a soil and situation well adapted to 
their growth, with a little preparation. The soil, natur- 
ally, was a black, heavy loam, upon a clay and gravel 
subsoil, a little springy, and never very dry. Upon the 
spots designed for their location, I threw four or five 
shovelfuls of river-sand, and two of partly decomposed 
night-soil compost, and had it thoroughly incorporated 
with the soil, for two feet around, which made it quite 
light, and placed the plants in the center. They began 
to flower in July, and continued to throw up vigorous 
stems, with an abundance of flowers, until October. 
Their growth was so luxuriant, that it was necessary to 
tie them up to slender rods, stuck into the ground, a num- 
ber of times, to prevent them from being broken by the 
wind. JZ. cardinalis and L. fulgens were more than three 
feet high; the others between two and three feet. They 
may be easily propagated, by laying the stems in July 
and August, or dividing the roots in the spring, or by 
seed. 
“Van Mons observes that Z. cardinalis perishes in 
sandy soil, but becomes strong and multiplies in loam, 
while, at the same time,-it produces the most brilliant 
colors in the former. 
“The same thing may doubtless be predicted of the 
other species, it being a well-known law of nature, as to 
living beings, that their energies are concentrated in pro- 
portion to the obstacles thrown in the way of their ex- 
pansion.” 
