250 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
of one of our illustrations, is a distinct species and re¬ 
markable for its beauty. The spurs of the flower are 
almost as slender as a thread, about two inches long, 
with a tendency to twist round each other, and with 
green tips. But it is in the blue and white erect flower 
that the beauty lies, the effect being even better than in 
the blue and white form of the Alpine Columbine. It 
grows from twelve to fifteen inches high, commences 
to flower early in June, and continues a long time. 
Although a perennial in its native habitat, it does not 
prove so in our exposed borders, but would if given a 
cool, moist, and shaded situation. Therefore, it is better, 
in order to get strong plants that will flower freely, to 
treat it as a biennial. The seeds should be sown soon as 
ripe in cool frames, and the plants given a slight pro¬ 
tection during the winter. This will insure good 
flowering plants, at trifling amount of labor or expense. 
The 'flowers are, however, so lovely and so useful for 
cutting, that it deserves any amount of trouble and 
attention to have it in good condition, a result that can 
be best attained by treating it in the manner just in¬ 
dicated. 
A. Glandulosa (Altaian Mountain Columbine). This 
is a very showy and free flowering species, if planted in 
a congenial situation, but it is not particularly adapted 
to our summers. It grows about two feet high, with 
abundant foliage. The flowers are very large, blue and 
white, and have large spurs. Its flowering season ex¬ 
tends from May to July. It is a native of Siberia. 
There are two or three varieties of this species under 
cultivation. 
A. Jucunda (see illustration). This seems to be an 
intermediate form between A. Alpina and A. Glandu¬ 
losa, both of which, to some extent, it resembles. A. 
Jucunda is, however, more dwarf than A. Glandulosa, 
and the flowers are of a brighter blue tint, which is 
pleasantly relieved by the petals being tipped with white. 
It is hardy, and may be grown in a well-drained border 
of light soil, where it should be protected from excessive 
rains, which prove very injurious. The species is a 
native of the mountainous districts of Siberia. 
A. Vulgaris (Common Columbine). This species is a 
native of Europe, and has long been familiar in cottage 
gardens. It is variable in its character under cultiva¬ 
tion, and many beautiful and some extremely curious 
varieties have sprung from it. Some of the double 
varieties are splendid and interesting border plants, and 
are very useful for cut-flowers, as they remain fresh for 
a long time, and may be sent a great distance in the cut 
state. There are white, pink, lilac, blue, purple, dark- 
crimson, red, yellow and variegated colors in these 
double forms, and they are well worth a position in the 
flower-garden, as they remain in bloom for a period of 
two months, commencing about the first of June. They 
are readily increased from seed, which should be sown 
soon as ripe. 
BLUE-FLOWERED HYDRANGEAS. 
A writer in L'Illustration Horticole has observed the 
following in regard to the production of blue-flowered 
Hydrangeas : 
‘ ‘ In 1857 Mr. Luscombe exhibited in London some 
splendid blue Hydrangeas. These had merely been 
planted in a small Pine-wood, in the soil formed by the 
decomposed leaves of conifers. Now, up to that time, 
no one had thought that blue flowers could be produced 
in Hydrangeas, except by means of the following sub¬ 
stances, and that, too, in different degrees:—Lime- 
water, water naturally impregnated with iron, common 
red sand, free Norwood soil, water in which hot iron 
had been dipped, alum in solution, iron filings mixed 
with the soil. To the presence of the iron in solution, 
of the lime and of the alum, was attributed the effect 
of the various substances which we have just named. 
Now, Prof. Solly proved by experiment that lime, alum, 
or iron, rendered more soluble by the use of hydro¬ 
chloric acid, or less soluble by means of carbonate 
of soda, exercised only a moderate influence in color¬ 
ing plants of the genus Hydrangea. On the other 
hand, Mr. Fortune, who could not produce blue Hy¬ 
drangeas by the application of iron alone, succeeded in 
doing so by watering them with a solution of alum or 
by applying this substance in powder. And yet neither 
peat soil nor leaf-mould contain any alum. We can 
only seek for an explanation of the effect of these soils 
in the tannin which they contain, and which is acted 
upon by the peroxide of iron which exists in the tissues 
of the shrub. This might be proved by making the 
experiment (which Dr. Lindley formally suggested) of 
watering the plants first with water mixed with the 
peroxide of iron, and afterwards with a week infusion 
of tannin. This is only one side of the question. In 
1861 another Englishman brought forward the fact that 
blue-flowered Hydrangeas might be obtained by plant¬ 
ing them in any soil which had never been previously 
tilled. He made several experiments with garden soil 
and virgin peat, alternately, and obtained the same re¬ 
sults for five consecutive years. Further, a specimen 
planted in cultivated garden soil, and producing rose- 
colored flowers, began to bear blue flowers as soon, as 
its roots reached the virgin soil which had been placed 
underneath the plant. 
<£ On the other hand, it is well known that in granitic, 
schistose, mica-schistose soils, and generally in soils of 
igneous formation, Hydrangeas bear blue flowers abun¬ 
dantly. Here the question rested; and the fresh experi¬ 
ments of M. Gris had thrown but little additional light 
upon it, when M. Eug. Fournier commenced some fur¬ 
ther investigations, after a discussion on the subject 
which had taken place before the Botanical Society of 
France. He watered some Hydrangeas with the follow¬ 
ing solutions daily, and in equal quantities from the 1st 
of May:— 
1st. 316 grains of ammomacal alum to 1 7-10ths pint 
of distilled water (as recommended by Dr. Bois- 
duval). 
2nd. 316 grains of sulphate of iron (the common 
recipe). 
3d. 316 grains of carbonate of copper (suggested by 
M. Crochard). 
4th. Ammonia (in no definite proportion). 
