admitted that the
first-mentioned winter would be a fair test season. The position was
very dry, viz., on the top of a small bank of earth, against a south
wall; the soil was sandy loam, and it was overgrown with ivy, the leaves
of which would doubtless keep out many degrees of cold, as also would
the dryness of the soil; another point in favour of my specimen proving
hardy, would be the fact of its exposure to the sun, by which the tubers
would be well and duly ripened. It is one of the handsomest trailers or
climbers I know for the herbaceous garden; a free grower, very
floriferous, bright, distinct, and having a charming habit. The
illustration (Fig. 106) can give no idea of the fine colours of its
flowers, or richly glaucous foliage. One specimen in my garden has been
much admired, thanks to nothing but its own habit and form; under a west
wall, sheltered from the strong winds, it grows near some _Lilium
auratum_; after outgrowing the lengths of the stems, and having set off
to advantage the lily bloom, it caught by its tendril-like shoots an
apricot tree on the wall, and then reached the top, being furnished with
bloom its whole length. The flowers are orange and scarlet, inclining to
crimson; they are produced singly on long red stalks, which spring from
the axils of the leaves; the orange petals are small and overlapping,
being compactly enclosed in the scarlet calyx; the spur, which is also
of the same colour, is thick and long, imparting a pear-like form to the
whole flower, which, however, is not more than 11/2in. long. The leaves
are nearly round in outline, sub-peltate, five, but sometimes only
three-lobed; lobes entire, sometimes notched, smooth and glaucous; the
leaf-stalks are long and bent, and act as tendrils. The plant makes
rapid growth, the stems going out in all directions, some trailing on
the ground.

It is a good subject for the drier parts of rockwork, where a twiggy
branch should be secured, which it will soon cover. It is also fine for
lattice work, or it may be grown where it can appropriate the dried
stems of lupine and larkspurs. For all such situations it is not only
showy, but beautiful. The flowered sprays are effective in a cut state,
especially by gaslight; they come in for drooping or twining purposes,
and last a long time in water.

[Illustration: FIG. 106. TROPAEOLUM TUBEROSUM.

(One-fifth natural size.)]

If grown as a tender plant its treatment is as simple as can be; the
tu