To enjoy the exquisite airy beauty of this lovely flower, we must seek it in its own haunts—for there is a touch of wildness in its nature that will not be subdued; nor will it submit to being handled or ruthlessly transported from its own sylvan retreat.

Fringing the stream, peering over the bank, as if to see its own loveliness reflected there, or hiding in the greenest recesses of the woodland, it is always a welcome blossom, and the eye brightens and the pulse quickens upon beholding it.

This species is at home throughout our borders; but there is another form which is said to be found occasionally in our very high mountains—A. cœrulea, James. This is plentiful in the Rocky Mountains, and is the State flower of Colorado. Its blossoms, which are blue or white, are large and magnificent, with slender spurs an inch and a half or two inches long.

[COLUMBINE—Aquilegia truncata.]

CLIMBING PENTSTEMON. SCARLET HONEYSUCKLE.

Pentstemon cordifolius, Benth. Figwort Family.

Woody at base, with long, slender branches, which climb over other shrubs. Leaves.—Cordate or ovate; an inch or less long. Calyx.—Campanulate; five-parted. Corolla.—Bright scarlet; eighteen lines long. Sterile stamen bearded down one side. (See Pentstemon.) Hab.—From Santa Barbara to San Diego.

In spring we notice in the borders of southern woodlands and along the roadsides certain long, wandlike branches with beautiful heart-shaped leaves, which are suggestive of those of the garden Fuchsia. Our curiosity is naturally aroused and we wonder what blossom is destined to grace this elegant foliage. Early summer solves the mystery by hanging the tips of these wands with brilliant scarlet blossoms, in every way satisfying the earlier promise.