CALCEOLARIAS, 



3*3 



young shoots as they grow, causing loss. 

 The flowers appear in June, sometimes 

 pure yellowand at others prettily spotted 

 with reddish points beneath. Amongst 

 Calceolarias it is one of the easiest to 

 grow and both quaint and pretty in its 

 effect when grouped in the border or 

 among rocks ; flowering so soon in the 

 year, young plants should be put out 

 early — even if protected for awhile — 

 to enable them to get a hold before 

 hot weather. Several hybrids have been 

 raised between this and allied kinds, of 

 which the best is C. Kelly ana — a useful 

 and pretty plant, described on a suc- 

 ceeding page. 



The Calceolarias or Slipperworts 

 are a large and handsome group of about 

 1 2 o species, almost confined to the high 

 valleys of western South America, and 

 unlike all other plants in their pouch- 

 like flowers. It is with a strange mixture 

 of feelings that one turns to the records 

 of forty years ago, when these plants 

 were in full favour, the centre of interest 

 at shows, the mainstay of the summer 

 garden, and the special pride of florists. 

 And to-day, after so many years of care 

 and favour, the genus is forgotten save 

 for the few shrubby kinds retained for 

 borders and the race of tender green- 

 house plants whose flowers — more 

 monstrous than beautiful — appear dur- 

 ing a few short weeks each spring. True 

 there are yet a few of the wild kinds lin- 

 gering on in old gardens, too robust to 

 be easily killed by neglect, and witness- 

 ing mutely to the fickleness of man and 

 the real beauty of some of these lost 

 plants of other days. 



The range of the Calceolaria nearly 



coincides with that of the Fuchsia, 

 reaching from Mexico to the extreme of 

 South America and thence to the Falk- 

 land Islands and New Zealand. Over a 

 great part of this area they grow in the 

 high valleys of the western Andes to an 

 extreme height of 13,000 to 14,000 

 feet, thriving in the sandy waste of vol- 

 canic rocks or the richer soils beside 

 streams, and in a moist climate neither 

 hot nor cold. A few occur in the drier 

 parts of Chili and Peru, four species 

 in the heights of Mexico and central 

 America, and a little group of alpine 

 kinds in the wind - swept Falkland 

 Islands. These conditions of growth ex- 

 plain the failure of many kinds near 

 towns or in districts unsuited to them as 

 to soil and climate, the moister air of 

 Scotland , Ireland, and the west of Eng- 

 land meeting the needs of most better 

 than that of other parts. Among them 

 are woody shrubs, perennials, and an- 

 nuals, with a great variety of form, foli- 

 age, and flower. A few shrubby kinds 

 are hardy the year round in gardens of 

 the south-west of England and Ireland, 

 and some of the perennial species in 

 gardens of light soil will thrive much 

 further north, but in the main they need 

 just enough shelter in winter to keep out 

 frost. In southern gardens they do best 

 (during summer) in a north aspect such 

 as the shady side of a hedge, yielding a 

 fine display in the autumn and (in many 

 kinds) flowering under glass through a 

 great part of the winter, if free from fog 

 and damp. In a few sorts old plants do 

 well through a series of years, but it is 

 best to renew most kinds frequently from 

 seeds or cuttings, using the old stock for 



