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THE LADIES’ FLOWER-GARDEN 
all consist of the same number of parts. The leaves of most of the annual lupines are what is called digitate; 
that is, the leaflets spread out from a common centre like the fingers of the hand, and are not disposed in pairs 
as leaflets generally are. The leaf of the lupine affords an example of the sleep of plants, as in the evening, the 
leaflets close, and hang back upon the footstalk of the leaf. Nearly all the lupines are quite hardy and easily 
grown, as they require no other care in their culture than simply sowing them. They generally seed freely, and 
their seeds keep well, and seldom fail to vegetate. The word Lupine is derived from the Latin word Lupus, a 
wolf, because the lupines, when cultivated for food (as they have been in Rome from the most ancient 
times), require an exceedingly rich soil, and indeed devour, like a wolf, all the food they can get. 
1.—LUPINUS ALBUS, Lin. THE WHITE LUPINE. 
Synonyme. — L. sativus, Gater. bracteoles ; upper lip of calyx entire, lower one tridentate; leaflets 
Specific Character _Flowers alternate, pedicellate, destitute of obovate-oblong, usually 7 or 8 , villous beneath. —( G ■ Don.) 
Description, &c. —The flowers are white, and with scarcely any footstalk to each. There is a variety with 
the heel of the flower tipped with violet. This plant is a native of the Levant, but it has been long cultivated in 
Italy and other parts of Europe for food, as peas and beans are with us. In the north of Italy and the south of 
France, it is sown on poor dry soils, in order that, when the plants come up, they may be ploughed into the 
land instead of manure, to increase its fertility, and after this treatment the land is said to bear an excellent crop 
of corn or grass. The practice is described by the ancient Roman writers on agriculture, exactly as it is performed 
at the present day. The Romans also frequently mention lupines as articles of food; and Pliny says that 
persons who lived principally upon them always had a fresh colour and a cheerful countenance. Yirgil, however, 
speaks of their extraordinary bitterness ; which, was generally abated by soaking them in hot water, and 
covering them with hot ashes. Among the Greeks, lupines were also used as food, and were thought to 
brighten the mind, and quicken the imagination. Dioscorides recommends them as a cosmetic, as he says that, 
when boiled and applied externally, they serve to clear the skin; and Theophrastus says they require a very bad 
soil, being of an untameable nature, and delighting most to grow wild. This species was introduced by Gerard, 
before 1596; and it is common in flower-gardens to the present day. Seeds may be procured in any seed-shop. 
2.—LUPINUS HIRSUTUS, Lin. THE HAIRY LUPINE. 
Synonyme. —L. digitatus, Forsk. calyx bipartite, lower one trifid. Leaflets 5, oblong-spatulate, hairy 
Variety.— L. ‘1-albus , Hort. on both surfaces. Legumes very hairy. — (G. Don.) 
Specific Character. —Flowers alternate, bracteolate ; upper lip of 
Description, &c.— A very distinct kind ; the whole plant being covered with ferruginous hairs. It is 
remarkable also for its large blue flowers, which have occasioned it to be called in the old books on flowers, the 
great blue lupine. Nearly allied to it are the Rose Lupine (L. pilosus), and the Lesser blue Lupine, (L. varius) 
L. hirsutus is a native of the south of Europe, and was introduced between 1596 and 1629, as it is not mentioned 
by Gerard, who wrote at the former period, though it is by Parkinson, who wrote at the latter. Its seeds are 
now seldom found in the seed-shops, as its culture has been partly superseded by the many more beautiful kinds 
that have been introduced since it was a favourite ; but there is a beautiful new white variety of it, the seeds of 
which may be procured at Carter’s, Ilolborn. Like all the other lupines, it requires a light but rich soil to bring 
it to perfection. It should be sown in March or April, and will flower in June or July. 
