2i4 
PLORA ANb SVLVA 
the Canna, a thing perhaps not surpris- 
ing in view of the fact that it is primar- 
ily a southern flowerand happiest under 
sunny skies . Certainly these early plants 
were freely used upon the continent 
when little known with us, for more 
than fifty years ago we find a writer 
urging the importance of the Canna for 
summer-gardening in Britain, upon the 
ground of its long-proved value in Ger- 
many and other parts. These early kinds 
were mostly raised in the south of France 
by a M. Annee of whose experiments no 
complete record remains, though some 
of his seedlings such as C. Amiei and 
its forms, and C. rotimdifolia^ showed 
real advance and were much used in sub- 
tropical gardening. They were however 
straggling and ungainly , with bare stems 
and clusters of small flowers, soon over 
and with little colour variety. Follow- 
ing these came the first large-flowered 
forms raised from C. Warscewiczi^ a 
dwarf species from Costa Rica, crossed 
with C. iridiflora^2i tall kind with droop- 
ing crimson flowers from Peru. These 
crosses, followed by otherseedlings and 
selections of Sisleyand others, were really 
handsome plants but with too short a 
season and with few flowers ; the best 
of them, C, Eherma?i?ii and C, Noittoni^ 
are still found in some old gardens. By 
this time the example of Sisley had fired 
other nurserymen of Lyons, and it was 
about twenty years ago that Crozy sent 
out the first of his Gladiolus-flowered 
Cannas now known the world over. The 
parentageofthesehasneverbeenauthori- 
tatively declared but they are beheved 
to come from C mdica^w\\}i\ handsome 
red and yellow flowers, crossed with 
aureo-picta and the improved forms of 
iridiflora. Crozy's early kinds are now 
mostly discarded, but they laid the foun- 
dation of the dwarf large-flowered race 
of to-day and a few such as Mdm. Crozy 
and Soiive7iir d' Antoine Crozy are still 
grown for their excellence. One of the 
first Cannas seen in the London parks 
was Premicesde 7V/'<:^,used in 1 8 7 7 ,while 
in the following year the plant had so 
gained in favour that seven varieties re- 
ceived awards from the Royal Horti- 
cultural Society. Since that time the 
Canna has steadily gained ground, and 
raisers in France, England, Germany, 
and America, have sent out a multitude 
ofkindsmore distinct in name than effect. 
Yet there has been steady progress in 
general excellence, size of flower, free- 
dom, habit, and range of colour, though 
there is also some loss of vigour seen in 
the fact that the best kinds are often of 
faulty constitution. 
With us the Canna is less seen 
outdoors than under glass, 
though in warm and sheltered gardens 
of the south and especially along the 
coast, it is capable of fine effect in the 
open air, though seldom used in the 
best ways. The beauty of the plant is 
spoiled when thrust into beds where 
the stiff" outline of the shoots — leaves 
rigidly erect and stems bolt upright — 
is yet more emphasised by formal sur- 
roundings. The massed effect also of 
such vivid colour is garish and lacking 
in repose. Dispersed in chosen corners, 
using a few strong plants of one colour 
varied by groups of other things, their 
effect is more graceful and their colour 
useful. Clear self-colours should be 
