AND ORNAMENTAL TREATMENT. 17 



the veins are represented by interlacing lines of pale green and brilliant crimson. In S. Flava 

 the general colour is yellowish green. The Sarracenias are all natives of North America, the 

 present plant (fig. 73) being found abundantly in the swamps of Florida and Carolina. Some 

 of the species are found as far north as Canada ; in fact, the plants derive their name from a Dr. 

 Sarrazin, a French physician residing in Quebec, who first discovered in Canada this remarkable 

 genus. Our illustration is necessarily on a very small scale : the natural leaves are between two 

 and three feet high. 



There are three families of plants which, though very diffierent in many respects, are 

 all familiarly called "pitcher" plants. Of these the Sarracenias are one, the pitcher being the 

 long funnel-like form made by the rolling together of the sides of the leaf ; while the others are 

 Nepenthes, a group of shrubs, natives of South- Eastern Asia, having pendant goblet-shaped 

 pitchers ; and lastly, Cephalotus, a family of small herbs, growing in the bogs of Southern 

 Australia, with small cups of globular form. In all these the vessel has a natural lid, tightly 

 closed at first, but gradually expanding as the pitchers become more developed. The flowers of 

 the various species of Sarracenia are large, and very curious in form : in some cases deep red in 

 colour, in the present a pale green. The whole plant is very quaint and striking in effect. 



Our space is far too limited to justify our alluding, however briefly, to many other very 

 curious and abnormal leaf forms : nor indeed do we care to do such scant justice to them. We 

 regret this the less, however, since^ — however interesting and curious the subject — it would not be 

 of much practical value to the designer. 



The variegation of colour sometimes seen in leaves is, as we have pointed out in referring 

 to the Pelargonium leaf (fig. 37), a matter of study quite within the scope of the designer's aim. 

 Many beautiful examples are to be met with ; in some plants the variation is normal and 

 characteristic, in others exceptional — the result of cultivation, or of some special circumstance 

 peculiar to the particular plant in which it is found ; thus, in this latter category we find, for 

 example, the leaves of the following plants which, normally green, are occasionally variegated in 

 colour : — Daisy, Lily of the Valley, Yew, Strawberry, Ivy, Hop, Plantain, Periwinkle, Coltsfoot, 

 and Violet. Where the variation of colour is thus exceptional — the result of some disturbing 

 circumstance, the abnormal colour is generally met with in blotches and irregular streaks. In 

 plants, on the contrary, where this variety of colour is a natural feature, the forms assumed are 

 frequently, though by no means invariably, of definite outline, as in the markings on the leaf of the 

 Maranta pardina (fig. 77), a native of New Granada. 



It is in leaves of this class that the designer will most probably find suggestive material ; 

 the black, quadrangular spots on the Maranta leaf, for instance, impart great additional richness 

 to it, and form a valuable ornamental feature. Other good examples may be seen in the Calathea 

 Zebrina, a native of Brazil, where the green ground-colour of the foliage is barred across on either 

 side of the mid-rib with parallel lines of a darker green ; or in the Aphelandria Leopoldii, also a 

 South American plant, where the deep green of the leaf has the parallel veins sharply defined by 

 a series of clear white lines. 



Many valuable colour suggestions may be derived from a study of autumnal foliage ; the 

 Blackberry is only one example out of many that afford great richness and variety of colour in 

 their decay. We mention the Bramble especially, pardy because it is so common, partly because, 

 while many plants show great richness of colour of a green tint — the Maple, for instance, turning 

 a brilliant yellow, the Guelder Rose deep crimson, the Oak a rich brown — the Bramble has a 

 great variety of tint, some leaves being as yellow as the Maple, or as crimson as the Guelder Rose-: 

 while others are of a delicate lemon yellow, a brilliant orange, or a beautiful purple. 



PLATE 7. 



" All Thy works shall praise Thee, O God ; and Thy saints shall blesS Thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy 

 kingdom, and talk of Thy power ; to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom." 

 — Psalm cxlv 10, 11, 12. 



The Musk Mallow (Malva Moschata), like the Meadow Crane's-bill (Geranium pratense, 

 plate 22), the Bulbous Crow-foot ( Ranunculus bulbosus, plate 15), and many other plants, possesses 

 one feature of great advantage to the ornamentist ; its leaves and flowers, while alike beautiful 

 in form, have in addition a due proportion, the one with the other, that renders them in an 

 especial degree of service, A further recommendation to the designer will be found in the pleasing 

 variety of form in the leaves, the upper ones being deeply cut, while the lower are of a much 

 simpler character. The bud, with its involucre of pendant bracts (fig. 81), and the beautiful 

 plan views, back and front, made by the flower, are additional features of value. We have, in fig. 



