1873.] 
341 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
The Golden-Spurred Columbine. 
More than twenty years ago the writer in his 
wanderings in the wilds of Northern Mexico 
came across a Columbine which at the time 
between this and A. ccerulea are not very 
marked, but it is one of those cases in which 
other than purely botanical characters may 
have weight. The plant comes from a different 
geographical range, grows taller, flowers nearly 
the shopkeeper which he thought were the 
lavenderest. If we were asked which was “ the 
lavenderest” flower w» knew we should say 
the Amsonia. The books all have it that the 
flowers are “ pale blue,” but this does not pro- 
GOLDEN-SPURRED COLUMBINE. 
seemed to him not only the most beautiful 
Columbine but the most charming wild flower 
he had ever seen. How he searched for seeds 
—for being a thousand miles from anywhere 
roots were of no use—how sadly he contented 
himself with specimens for the herbarium, and 
how he filled his liat-baud and the button-holes 
of a red-flannel shirt with flowers are matters of 
pleasant recollection. He supposed, of course, 
he had a new species, and was not a little dis¬ 
appointed to find that both Torrey and Gray 
considered it as a yellow variety of Aquilegia 
leptocera —what is now known and cultivated as 
Aquilegia ccerulea, the Rocky Mountain Colum¬ 
bine. As the plant is destined to be a popular 
one, we give it the name of “ Golden-Spurred 
Columbine.” That most industrious collector 
and excellent botanist'Dr. C. C. Parry was for¬ 
tunate enough to obtain seeds, and the plant has 
been for sometime in cultivation in the Botanic 
Garden of Harvard University, and is sparingly 
introduced from there into European and a few 
American gardens, and is noticed in foreign 
journals with high commendation as Aquilegia 
leptocera Jlava. This is not the place to discuss 
botanical nomenclature and synonyms. Suffice 
it to say that after cultivating the plant for 
several years, and comparing it with the Rocky 
Mountain Columbine {A. ccerulea ), Dr. Gray has 
concluded to describe it as a new species, Aqui- 
legia chrysantha. The botanical distinctions 
a month later, and blooms for two months con¬ 
tinuously ; these peculiarities, added to its full 
yellow color, seem to warrant it to rank as a 
species. Like the Rocky Mountain Columbine, 
it has very long and slender spurs, often over 
two inches in length. The engraving, which 
only gives the form of the flowers and smaller 
than life, can not convey an idea of the beauty 
of the plant, with its foliage set off by numerous 
graceful goldon-spurred flowers. It is perfectly 
hardy, even more so than the Rocky Mountain 
species, which in some soils being injured by 
the heat of summer, is not sufficiently strong 
to stand the winter, a difficulty however which 
has never been within our experience. 
We could not mention this fine Columbine 
without reference to the Botanic Garden, and 
we especially request our readers not to annoy 
Prof. Gray or Prof. Sargent by making applica¬ 
tions for seeds, as it is impossible for them to 
answer such demands. We learn that seeds of 
this plant from other sources will be offered 
by some of our leading seed-dealers this fall, 
and they may be obtained in the regular way. 
- » » — 
The Amsonia. 
There are several flowers which are not very 
showy that we like to grow on account of their 
peculiarity or oddity. It is told of an affected 
young lady that in selecting gloves she asked 
perly describe the color. Bluish gray, which is 
just lavender color, would be a better term. 
The engraving gives a top of a flowering stem 
of about the natural size. A well-established 
plant throws up numerous stems two to two 
and a half feet high, with leaves of variable 
shape, and each surmounted by a loose cluster 
of flowers that are delicate in form as well as in 
color. The botanical name of the plant is 
Amsonia Taberncemontana. Amsonia com¬ 
memorates a gentleman by the name of Amson, 
and the other name another person by the name 
of Taberusemontanus. As this pretty native 
plant, which is found in Illinois, Virginia, and 
southward, is very well provided with names, 
we think that Amsonia will do for its common as 
well as i'ts botanical appellation. It belongs to 
the Dogbane Family {Apocynacece), of which 
our native Indian Hemp, the Oleander, Peri¬ 
winkle, and other cultivated plants are mem¬ 
bers. The Amsonia is of the easiest cultivation 
in ordinary garden soil, requiring only to be 
divided when the clumps get too large. 
-- --MOV-- -- 
Corn-meal and Curculio.— A correspon¬ 
dent of the Ohio Farmer states that he kept a 
plum-tree free from curculios by sprinkling the 
ground under the tree with corn-meal. This 
induced the chickens to scratch and search. 
The meal was strewn every morning from the 
time the trees blossomed until the fruit was 
