220 The Blue Hepatica. 



And something told my mind, 



That should old age to childhood call me back, 



Some sunny days and flowers I still might find 



Along life's weary track." 



J. II. Bryant. 



" On the hill the golden-rod, 



And the Aster in the wood, 

 And the yellow sunflower by the brook, 



In autumn beauty stood, 

 Till fell the frost from the clear cold heaven, 



As falls the plague on men ; 

 And the brightness of their smile was gone 



From upland, glade, and glen." 



W. C. Bryant. 



The Blue Hepatica. 



This plant is in the class Polyandria, order Polygynia. Its 

 generic characters are : — calyx three-leaved, some distance below 

 the corol, entire ; petals six to nine ; seeds without tails. This 

 charming little plant, which the florist has brought from the 

 woods and shady mountains of Italy, Germany and Sweden, to 

 embellish the English parterres, and from thence our own, offers 

 its blossoms, with those of the Snowdrop, to form our earliest 

 garland. As no flower garden ought to be without this hardy 

 specimen of Anemone, and few possess it so plentifully as to 

 show it to full advantage, we shall strongly recommend the 

 careful increase of this flower of February and March. It loves 

 a strong, loamy soil, and an eastern aspect, but will flourish 

 in almost any earth and situation where it can receive a pure 

 air. The Hepatica should be planted in clumps of at least a 

 dozen plants each, about six inches apart, and these should never 

 be taken up or transplanted, except to form fresh clumps, as they 

 frequently die after being removed, and never flower well until 

 about the third year after they are planted. The double varieties 

 are increased by parting the roots when in blossom, which is 

 contrary to the general mode of planting flowers. March is 

 therefore the best time for forming clumps of these plants, which, 

 like their relatives, seem to delight in the wind. 



