August 20, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
151 
this Lily. The large, glossy, heart-shaped leaves, looking at 
times as if they had been covered with some special polish or 
varnish of Flora’s handiwork, are objects of beauty whenever seen 
in health, while the tall leafy stem surmounted by the noble 
trumpet-shaped flowers is most graceful, and one is tempted to 
a PPty to the plant an imperial title. I flowered it last season, but 
my bulbs have not been large enough to flower this year. This 
Lily has suffered considerably in this neighbourhood from the late 
spring frosts. In some gardens the foliage has been nearly 
destroyed, but my plants, which are in the angle of a hedge 
protecting them from the north and east, have suffered very little. 
I have never given my plants the slightest protection. 
L. candidum has done much better this year than last, when many 
plants never opened their buds at all. I must say, however, that 
I am not very successful with this flower, which does well in a 
small garden close at hand. There is still some disease to be seen 
among the plants, but it is not nearly so virulent as in former 
years. 
Several of the Verbascuni3 seem to be coming into favour again. 
1. Thapsus, the Great Mullein, known also in some places as 
Jupiter’s Staff, is plentiful along the coast in this locality, where I 
have heard it called Aaron’s Rod and Shepherd’s Gourd. I have 
a much superior variety in my garden, closely resembling the 
type, but branching near the top of the stem. I saw this in the 
Edinburgh Botanic Gardens last year, but I had not the opportunity 
of ascertaining its name. I afteiwards saw it in Dumbartonshire 
in the garden of Mr. James Lindsay of Alexandria, who kindly 
gave me a plant which he informed me was grown in Edinburgh as 
Y. Thapsus compacta. It is, of course, only a biennial, but I hope 
it may establish itself with me, as it has been very showy for a 
long time, and forms a stately object, having attained, in a dry 
border, a height of 6 feet. The yellow flowers are of a good size. 
V. phoeniceum, a true perennial, is faitly well known, and hybrids 
of this of various shades from white to purple can now be obtained. 
It is a fair border plant, but after it has been in bloom for a time 
becomes a little unsightly from the number of seed pods on the 
lower part of the stems. It will be found better to cut off the 
stems after, say, half of the flowers are past. A succession of 
stems will be produced and the flowering season thus prolonged. I 
saw a very good yellow Mullein some days ago which I was unable 
to identify. It was a neat compact plant, about 3 feet high, with 
green leaves and large yellow flowers, not much inferior to those 
of Celsia cretica. The finest I have seen was a white one, grown 
as Y. variegatum—a name which I have been unable to discover 
anywhere. It seemed by far the choicest of the genus, and was of 
good, compact habit, and about 2^ feet in height. I hope to be 
able to obtain a plant for another season, and may then be able to 
ascertain the true name. 
It is always interesting to notice the names of the herbaceous 
plants exhibited at the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society 
and the various flower shows, and among these I observed that Cruci- 
anella stylosa was exhibited recently by a well-known firm. This 
long-styled Cro:swort is very pretty, and the projecting styles from 
which it derives its specific name are extremely prominent, and 
add much to the beauty of the pale rose or pink flowers which are 
produced in dense terminal heads. The leaves, which are arranged 
in whorls of eight or nine, are produced on stems from 9 to 12 
inches in length. The stems are procumbent, and, like the leaves, 
are covered with stiff hairs. When out of flower this Crucianella 
bears some resemblmce to the common Woodruff, and is frequently 
mistaken for this by the casual observer. Indeed, a plant I once 
gave to a friend was mistaken for this by that much-abused per¬ 
sonage, the jobbing gardener, and was removed by him to a shady 
position, as being best suited to the plant. C. stylosa prefers a 
sunny position, and does best in rather light soil. It is not often 
met with in this locality ; indeed, I have seen none near here with 
the exception of plants I have given from my stock, which I raised 
from seed some five years ago. This Crucianella has, like most 
other flowers, one or two drawbacks. The first is, its habit of 
running under stones and encroaching on other plants ; and the 
second, the peculiar and rather unpleasant smell of the roots. 
This odour seems also to proceed from the leaves and stems towards 
evening and after rain. On one of my rockeries, which is near the 
garden gate, this peculiar smell, closely akin to that of the roots 
of most of the Acacias, has been observed by visitors, who were 
unable to account for its presence. It has no other defects with 
me, and is perfectly hardy here, although a native of rocky places 
in Persia and some parts of the Caucasus. Notwithstanding the 
defects noticed above, it is well worth growing, and is one of the 
prettiest plants in the natural order of Stellates (Galiaceae) to 
which it belongs, and the lengthened period over which it blooms 
is an additional recommendation. It begins with me in June, 
and flowers till well into September. There are several other 
plants of the genus which are classed as hardy herbaceous, but I 
have not seen any others, nor have I seen them named in any 
catalogues. 
The yellow flowered shrubby Linums frequently bear a bad 
character as to hardiness, and they are thus too seldom met with 
in gardens. Although I believe my garden to be situated in a 
favoured spot so far as mild winters and pure air are concerned, I 
have been much struck with the way in which my plants of L. 
flavum have survived the severe weather of the past winter. Even 
young seedlings not an inch high and totally unprotected stirted in 
spring as fresh as ever, and older plants were quite uninjured, and 
are now flowering freely. This pretty yellow Flax is well worth 
growing in the border or on rockwork, the glaucous character of 
the foliage adding much to the attraction of the bright yellow 
flowers. The leaves, which are acute, narrowly lance-shaped, 
glaucous, and thickish, are smooth and stalkless. The flowers are 
at their best in the morning, are produced in leafy corymbs, and 
appear in June, July, and August. There is another species, L. 
campanulatum, which grows about the same height (1 foot), and is. 
distinguished by the more campanulate shape of the flowers and 
less glaucous appearance of the leaves. This with some others 
were grouped by De Candolle under the name of L. glandulosum,. 
L. flavum is a native of mountainous places in Germany and 
Switzerland, and is said to be plentiful by the sides of hedges and 
among shrubs. It was introduced from Austria in 1793. L. flavum 
ripens seed freely, and may be increased readily by this means—• 
viz., division in autumn or by cuttings. 
Its pretty little congener, L. alpinum, I have been less successful 
with, as it has failed to flower with me this season. I am inclined 
to think it has suffered from Jack of moisture, and purpose 
transferring it to a new rockery I have at present in course of 
construction, and on which I shall be better able to suit the 
requirements of many of my flowers. Last year it flowered very 
well, which strengthens my opinion that insufficient moisture has 
made me unsuccessful this season. It is a very pleasing little 
flower, much resembling in general appearance the better known 
L. perenne, but much smaller in all its parts. It grows only ta 
6 or 8 inches in height, and has exquisite little blue flowers of the 
most pleasing tone. These are freely produced on the very slender 
stems in July and part of August. I do not know that I can 
describe the plant in better terms than as a miniature L. perenne,. 
with more awl-shaped leaves, and the flowers of a slightly different 
shade. So far as I have seen it likes a light sandy moist soil. 
L. alpinum is a native of most of the mountainous parts of Europe, 
and was introduced in 1739. It is increased by seeds or division. 
There is also a white variety, which seems far from common. Even 
at the risk of speaking of things which are “ common,” I must 
mention our native L. perenne, which is not nearly often enough 
met with. A good plant I saw the other day brought to my 
recollection some lines on “ Flax Flowers ” by Margaret Delandj. 
which appeared in “ Harper’s Magazine ” for October, 1888 :— 
“ Blue as heaven, light as air, 
All their slender stems can bear.” 
“ Nodding, swaying, as they float, 
Each one like a restless boat.” 
“ One would think they’d anchored there, 
Just to wait till winds were fair. 
On their stems they tug and strain, 
Longing to be off again.” 
But now reluctantly I must lay down my pen, for as lovers are 
said never to weary of praising the objects of their admiration, so 
those who seek “the purest of human pleasures” tire not of speaking 
of their flowers.—S. Aiinott. 
HOP GROWING IN COLORADO. 
It has been well said that Colorado very much resembles the 
enterprising storekeeper who placed a notice on the outside of his 
establishment as follows :—“ If you do not see in the window what 
you require, please come inside and ask for it, as I keep it in stock.” 
Within the last ten years, by means of artificial irrigation and 
practical cultivation, Colorado has come rapidly to the front as a 
first-class farming aud fruit growing State. Year after year the 
great development and phenomenal results of field and orchaul and 
garden have astonished even citizens of Colorado, and are not by 
any means realised by people at a distance. I came to Denver 
from Manchester, England, nearly eight years ago, during which 
time I have endeavoured to keep informed on the details of the 
annual development of the State ; but notwithstanding all efforts to 
keep track of what was going on, last week furnished me with a 
