ll varieties of
flowers), but notwithstanding that it is a most appropriate name it is
seldom applied.

As the flowers must be familiar to the reader, they need hardly be
described, and it is only necessary to mention the general features.
They are produced on tall leafy stems in panicles of different forms, as
pyramidal, rounded, or flattish; the clusters of bloom are sometimes
8in. in diameter in rich soil; the corolla of five petals is mostly
flat, the latter are of a velvety substance, and coloured at their base,
which in most varieties forms the "eye;" the tube is fine and bent, so
as to allow the corolla to face upwards; the calyx, too, is tubular, the
segments being deep and sharply cut; the buds abound in small clusters,
and although the flowers are of a somewhat fugacious character, their
place is quickly supplied with new blossoms (the succession being long
maintained) which, moreover, have always a fresh appearance from the
absence of the faded parts. The leaves, as indicated by the name
_suffruticosa_, are arranged on half wood stems, and, as implied by the
name _decussata_, are arranged in pairs, the alternate pairs being at
right angles; these names are more in reference to the habit and form of
the plants than the period of flowering, which, however, they are
sometimes used to indicate; the leaves of some early kinds are leathery
and shining, but for the most part they are herb-like and hairy, acutely
lance-shaped, entire, and 2in. to 5in long.

Under ordinary conditions these hybrid forms of Phlox grow into neat
bushy specimens of a willow-like appearance, 2ft. to 4ft. high, but in
well-prepared richly-manured quarters they will not only grow a foot
taller, but proportionally stouter, and also produce much finer panicles
of bloom; no flower better repays liberal culture, and few there are
that more deserve it. In the semi-shade of trees, the more open parts of
the shrubbery, in borders, or when special plantings are made, it is
always the same cheerful subject, sweet, fresh, and waving with the
breeze; its scent is spicy, in the way of cinnamon. The whole genus
enjoys loam, but these strong-growing hybrids have a mass of long hungry
roots, and, as already hinted, if they are well fed with manure they pay
back with interest.

As cut bloom, if taken in entire panicles, they are bouquets in
themselves. All are effective, and many of the more delicate colours are
exquisite, vieing with the much more cared