If you gather the flower of a Columbine and look at it upside down, you will see why people say it is like little doves drinking, and how it gets its name of Columbine from the Latin word for dove. In some parts of England they grow wild, but the beautiful orange, yellow, and scarlet ones come from America, and the blue and white Alpine ones from Switzerland and the Pyrenees. In our climate they are uncertain as perennials. You may have a garden where they live for years, or you may find that your good ones die off every year. They like well-drained, well-nourished, rather light, moist soil, and a half-shady position. If you have heavy clay land, you will probably not succeed well with them. Where they are happy they seed themselves easily, and you see a whole colony of tiny plants coming up round their parent; so be careful how you weed near a good Columbine after it has flowered. These seedlings may be left till the spring, and then planted where they are to stand. The best way to acquire a stock is to buy a packet of seed of the long-spurred varieties, and to manage them as we have told you to manage other seeds of perennial flowers. If you sow in June you should be able to plant out in autumn, and one of the great growers tells you to put three plants in a triangle three inches apart, but we think this is too near. As the leaves die down in winter, you should put labels where you set your plants. When you have a great many seedlings from a mixed packet, do not keep only the biggest and strongest specimens, or you may find next summer that you have all one colour. Some of the choicest varieties look rather small and weak when they are young. PEONY.