the LADIES' floral CABINET. 
179 
In planting', such a border care must be taken not to 
repeat the same species at equal distances, as this gives 
too formal and monotonous an appearance. A few of 
the plants adapted to such a bed, and which are per- 
fectly hardy in this latitude, we here enumerate, simply 
adding that this list could be increased almost indefi¬ 
nitely. For tall-gi-oudng plants. Campanula pyramid- 
alts, Delphinium formosiim and the finer hybrid sorts of 
Larkspurs, Iris laevigata Kaempferi, I. sibirica, and its 
varieties. Lobelia cardinalis, than wliich there can be 
no showier scarlet flower; Lychnis chalcedonica, Liatris 
or Blazing Star, in its many fine species; the choicer 
hardy Pentstemons, such as Pentstemon, CobfeaMmTay- 
anus and' Torreyi; the best sorts of hybrid Phloxes, 
Spu'ma lobata or Queen of the Prau'ie; Veronicas or 
Speedwells, lUre veronica Candida, grandis, and awe- 
thystina. Tliese are but a few of the more effective 
plants for the back of the mixed border. Next in size 
we will mention Anthemis tinctorial, with its bright 
yellow flowers and finely-cut leaves; A^hodelus luieus, 
or Yellow Asphodel; Dictamnus fraxinella, or Gas Plant, 
with its brilliant spikes of red or white flowers, which 
give off a vapor wliich is readily lighted and produces a 
considerable flash, seen easily at dusk; the smaller¬ 
growing Asters or Starworts, like A. bessarcibieus, A. 
ptarmicoides and A. spcctabilis, all showy and not in 
the least weedy; Dicentra spcctabilis, or Bleeding Heart, 
one of the oldest and best of om- hardy plants; Funkia 
subcordata; perennial Candytufts or Iberis, such as I. 
coriifolia and 1. gibraltarica; Iris florentina, ivith its 
large, deliciously fragrant white flowers; Scutellaria 
macrantha, with pmple and white flowers; Aguilegias 
or Columbines, especially the fine blue one from the 
Rocky Mountains; A. caerulea and its relative, the long- 
spiuTed yellow one, A. chrysantha; AntherieiimlUias- 
triim and A. liliago, or St. Bernard’s and St. Bruno’s 
Lilies, with their numerous wliite fragrant flowers. 
The English Daisy. 
The daisy is one of the most popular of Spring flowers, 
well known as the emblem of fidelity and constancy. It 
is the latest blossom of the year, and the first to re-ap- 
pear with the approach of Spring. It is connected with 
the earlier traditions of England, of which we give the 
following pretty legend : While the Romans persecuted 
and put to death the Christians of tliis country. Saint 
Druon one day said to his sister. Saint Olle, “Sister, the 
days of the Inquisition are upon us. I, a priest must die 
at mj'- post, and without fear or murmiu'ing await the 
death of a martyr. But thou, my cliild, canst not with 
thy sisters incm' the dangers that I see lie before us. 
Thou must leave me, and with them seek a refuge where 
thou canst pray to God in safety.” Saint Olle refused at 
first, then yielded to her brother’s wishes, and left the 
comitry. At the end of a year the persecution had ceas¬ 
ed, and the good Bishop thought he might with safety 
urge his sister’s return. This was not easy at first, as he 
did not know where she had found a refuge. Full of 
confidence in the Almighty, he went in search of her, 
and took the first straight path that lay before him. Al¬ 
though it was now the end of Autumn, it struck him 
that, as he pursued his way, little tufts of flowers show¬ 
ing yellow centere, surrounded by a crown of white rays, 
appeared to spring up out of the earth before him, shin¬ 
ing even as stars to dispel the darkness of his nighf. 
He followed the way shown to him by these stai'-shaped 
flowers, and after nine days’ wandeiing reached a desert 
spot, with many hiding-places, where at length he foimd 
his sister. Since then the daisies are said to be seen on 
the earth at all seasons.— Selected. 
The Cardinal Floator.—T here is no difficulty in cul¬ 
tivating the Cardinal Flower {Lobelin Cardtn^ts). « 
prefers damp, lich soil, but with a little care , 
groAvn almost anywhere. The best way is to ge a ^ 
load of swamp dirt, which is mainly leaf mim i 
make a bed in a shady or half-shady P®®**””* . 
course the plants AviU do better if they can e i 
from their native place with care, retaunng a go 
tity of soil with the roots, and be speedily replanted ; 
but Ave have taken them up Avith but little soil, kept them 
several days, canied them a hundred miles, and planted 
them in conditions not particularly faA’orable with very 
good results. Among the many too much neglected na¬ 
tive Avild floAvers there are none whose form and color 
better challenge our admiration; and when avo know 
^vith what ease they are started, and that, being peren¬ 
nial, they continue from year to year to repay the atten¬ 
tion once be.stowed, we wonder they are not more fre¬ 
quently seen in our gardens. 
The Largest Known Floavei^.—T ire largest knoAvn 
floAver, says the Scientific Farmer, is that of a parasitical 
plant, the Eafflesia Amoldi. The plant has no proper 
stems or leaves, but consists solely of flowers varying in 
diameter from tAvo to three inches to two or three feet, 
enveloped at the base by a feAV bluish or brownish 
scales, and emerging from the roots and trunks of 
various species of Cissus in Sumatra. The flowers re¬ 
main expanded but for a feAv days, and then putrefy. 
Are Toads Poisonous?—A fter recounting instances 
of toads taken inwardly without any evil effects. Gold¬ 
smith, m his “Animated Natm-e,” says; “ From all this 
it will appear Avith what injustice tliis animal has hith¬ 
erto been treated. It has imdergone every reproach v 
and mankind have been taught to consider as an enemy 
a certain creature that destroys that msect tribe which 
are their real invaders. We are to treat, therefore, as 
fables those accounts that represent the toad as possessed 
of poison to kill at a distance; of its ejecting its venom, 
wliich burns wherever it touches; of its infecting those 
vegetables near Avhich it resides; of its excessive fond¬ 
ness for sage, which it renders poisonous by its ap¬ 
proach ; these and a hundred others of the same kind, 
probably, took rise from an antipathy which some have 
to aU animals of the kind. It is a harmless, defenedess 
creature, torpid and unvenomeus, and seeking the dark¬ 
est retreats; not from the malignity of its nature, but 
the multitude of its enemies.” 
