Plate 259. 
LOBELIA CORONOPIEOLIA. 
We are indebted to Messrs. Backhouse and Son, of York, 
who have introduced so many valuable and beautiful herbaceous 
plants, for the opportunity of figuring the very beautiful Lo¬ 
belia, which forms the subject of our present Plate, 
At a time when every one who cultivates flowers is seeking 
to have them, not merely for the decoration of their gardens in 
summer, but also to ornament their houses and conservatories 
during the whole year, any plant that will effect this must be 
considered an acquisition, and when that dower is a blue one, 
the acquisition is ail the greater; and such is the character 
given to this showy Lobelia by Messrs. Backhouse. They re¬ 
ceived it, as they inform us, “ from a correspondent in the inte¬ 
rior of Caffraria; when grown out-of-doors during the summer 
months, it forms a dense tuft, with spreading shoots, each ter¬ 
minating in an ascending rosette of leaves; from each of these 
shoots and their branches a dower-stem rises, of from four to 
six inches in height, bearing three to dve or six large and 
lovely blue blossoms, having a faint tinge of violet, each of 
which remains in perfection many wee fa, so that the plant is gay 
with dower throughout the whole range, of the winter months, 
—a time when so much beauty has a double charm.” 
The character of the plant has been very admirably delineated 
by Mr. Andrews, and it remains for us but to say a few 7 words 
on its cultivation. Like many herbaceous plants, it dourishes 
well in an open but not too rich soil; sandy loam, peat, and 
leaf-mould forming an admirable compost for it; it should be 
kept in a greenhouse during the winter months, and when in¬ 
crease is desired, this may be obtained by dividing the roots or 
suckers in spring, after the growth has commenced. 
