990 
a rich border should be provided, for as 
soon as hot weather comes on the plants 
grow very rapidly if ample food is at their 
command. A rabbit netting trellis or sup- 
port is more satisfactory than cords or 
smooth wire for this plant, as it fastens 
itself chiefly by tendrils rather than by 
twining, as does the morning glory. 
Cockscomb 
Celosia crista 
The cockscomb are prized and planted 
as an odd and picturesque decorative fea- 
ture of the garden. The dwarf varieties 
make novel and attractive borders; the 
tall ones form striking groups, and when 
interspersed with other lower growing 
plants in a border they produce a pleas- 
ing contrast. There are both red and yel- 
low forms of the cockscomb, but the bright 
red and crimson varieties are most ef- 
fective in gardens and also in winter bou- 
quets, for which they are cut before fully 
ripe and dried in the house. The young 
plants can be grown from seeds sown in 
gentle heat in April and transplanted to 
the open ground the middle or last of 
May, or the seeds may be sown early in 
May in the open where the plants are to 
stand. Transplanting into rich soils about 
the time the combs begin to form makes 
the flower heads much larger. They are 
bright from midsummer until frost. 
Columbine 
Aquilegia 
The columbine is a hardy perennial, 
with manv horticultural varieties, and is 
a desirable border plant. Its habit of 
growth is to form large clumps. It blooms 
profusely early in the season and remains 
in bloom for a considerable period. It is 
quite hardy, and is useful for cutting. The 
peculiar pendant flowers are interesting 
in themselves because of their unusual 
form, and this feature, taken in connec- 
tion with the graceful habit of the plant, 
gives each clump of columbine a strik- 
ing and interesting appearance. 
Sow the seed in the open ground in 
spring, preferably where the plants are 
to grow, and thin the young seedlings to 
about a foot apart. Seeds may also be 
sown in the autumn for flowering the 
following season. The plants thrive well 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
under good garden culture, but such 
rare sorts as Aquslegia coerulea and A. 
chrysantha do best in partially shaded, 
well-drained nooks. Few hardy peren- 
nials are so easily grown from seed. 
Coneflower 
Rudveckia 
Many of the rudbeckias are hardy and 
perennial, but they may be treated as 
annuals. The flowers are quite showy 
and usually have yellow rays, though 
some are crimson and others more or 
less covered with brown toward the 
base. The rudbeckias are of very easy 
cultivation, thriving in almost any soil 
and climate. Most of them prefer a 
moist soil, but will thrive in the garden 
under ordinary cultivation. Rudbeckia 
hirta—the Blackeyed Susans, or “nig- 
ger-heads,” as they are sometimes called 
—will thrive in the hottest and driest sit- 
uations. Kudbeckia triloba, a biennial, 
perpetuates itself through  self-sown 
plants. The triloba may be used quite 
effectively as a border to a large bed of 
delphiniums or as a screen, as it forms 
a densé bush between three and four feet 
high. The rudbeckias are propagated 
by means of seeds or cuttings, or by di- 
vision. The Golden Glow, one of the 
most satisfactory plants of this group, 
is well adapted for planting in a shrub- 
bery or herbaceous border. It grows to 
a height of from three to four feet, and 
may be used as a screen when lower 
growing plants are placed in the fore- 
ground. 
CorroPpsis. See Calliopsis. 
Corn Flower 
Centaurea 
Centaurea cyanus is also known as 
“blue bottle,” “ragged sailor,” “kaiser 
blumen,” and sometimes as “bachelor’s 
button.” These bright flowered plants 
are of a hardy nature, requiring simple 
culture, yet they are among the most at- 
tractive and graceful of all the old fash- 
ioned flowers. When placed in water af- 
ter cutting, the flowers increase in size. 
Seed of the annual sorts should be sown 
in the open in April or May and the 
young plants thinned to four to six 
inches apart. They thrive well on all 
