the foliage. I daresay by many it
would be preferred to the typical form, both for its robust and
decorative qualities. It is nearly twice the size of the type.

As may be inferred, both from the order to which this shrub belongs and
the localities where it occurs in its wild state, a peaty or vegetable
soil will be required. I find the species grow most freely in a mixture
of leaf soil and sand, the position being moist but exposed. It does not
object to a little shade, but then its useful berries are neither so
numerously produced nor so well coloured.

It is easily propagated by division at almost any time.

Flowering period, May to October.

Veronica Gentianoides.

_Syn._ V. GENTIANIFOLIA; GENTIAN-LEAVED SPEEDWELL;
_Nat. Ord._ SCROPHULARIACEAE.

This is a distinct and pleasing species, viewed as a garden plant. It is
very hardy, and one of the herbaceous kinds; it has been grown in
English gardens nearly 150 years, and came originally from the Levant.
It is pretty widely used, but it deserves a place in every garden; not
only are its tall spikes of flowers effective during their season, but
the foliage, compared with other Veronicas, is of a bright and plump
character. The newly-formed tufts, which are somewhat rosette-shaped,
have a fresh appearance throughout the winter, it being one of the few
herbaceous subjects in which the signs of life are so visible in this
climate.

The flowers are small-1/2in. in diameter--numerously produced on spikes
18in. high. They are blue, striped with light and dark shades; both
calyx and corolla, as common to the genus, are four-parted, petals of
uneven size. The flower spikes are finely developed, the flowers and
buds occupying 12in. of their length, and tapering off to a point which
bends gracefully. The buds are not less pretty than the flowers,
resembling as they do turquoise in a deep setting of the calyx. The
leaves are smooth, shining, and of much substance, 3in. to 6in. long,
and 1in. to 2in. broad, lance-shaped, serrated, and sheathing. They are
of a somewhat clustered arrangement close to the ground. Good pieces of
this plant, 1ft. to 2ft. across, are very effective, and flower for a
good while.

The rich and graceful spikes are of great value for vase decoration, one
or two sufficing in connection with other suitable flowers.

There is a lovely variety of this species called _V. g. variegata_; in
shape and habit it resembles the type though scarcely as