The Holly chieftain., 1901-08-09

guase has been freely qnoted u both
prose and poetry.
what could better typlfy the stats,
said Professor Cannon, than tha. cps-
crs OF this biossom. Its blush sepalD
point to the azure skies OF C0eorado; IN
pure white petals to the eternal en0W8
OF the great continental divide and it,
golden antlers not only recall the great
treasure vaults Of the nation locked mp
in our mountain fastnesses, but also
our equally great wealth, the bounte-
GUS golden harvests that we now resp
In the heart of the erstwhile great Am
erican desert"
While the old code of the language
of flowers contains no sentiment for
this our state flower, we may well ap-
proprfate the motto attached to its near
relative. the purple columbine, the
words, Resolved to win," as express
ing sentiment typical of our pioneer,
manhood of the Centennial state.
Although originally plant of the ra-
vines or sheltered mountain sides, bios
soming only in the open In higher alti-
tudes, 1t thrives in cultivation In the.
rich gardens of the East us well as Of
this section. A local firm has aided
| greatly in extending the popularity OF
this flower by collecting and selling
roots and seeds of the plant throughout
| the East.
The large number of votes cast for
the Mariposa lily," said Professor Can
non yesterday. was in no small way
due to the fact that the columblne has
h form far too graceful. delicate and
complicated to lend aid to the purposes
of the decorative artist. While the
simple tlliplike form of the Mariposai
was admirably fitted for such pur-
poses. At first decorators seemed un-
| able to catch the spirit of the hOwer,-
but the more recent efforts seem to be
| fairly successful. The columbines are
| members of the great crowfoOt family
| which includes the buttercups, lark
| spurs. monkShood clematis the mead-'
Ow rue anemones and the marsh mar
| igolds. 1t is the member OF n genus OF
plant found in many parts Of the world
AS rule the native home of the col
umbine is the mountain, but they do
well when transplanted to gardens
The colors of the columbnes favor
shades of purple, blue and white, vet
red and yellow colored varieties are
not uncommon. There are the red and
yellow columbines of the rocky cliffs
of sthe Appalachian system of noun
tains and the golden columbines Of the
4 southern part of this state. Coulter'S
Rocky Mountain Flora mentions seven
species found in tine Rocky Mountains
and to this must be added some inter
esting forms found by Miss Eastwood
and Miss Daley. some of which are
noticeable for lacking that characterfs--
tic feature of the columbine genus, the
long spurs.
.f.1vy 1.i nfryI,t
one to three feet. The entire plant ls
found to be free from the hair which
covers most of the western plants.
Most of the leaves are found near the
base of the plant and are from two to
two and one-half inches In diameter
The five sepals are colored like petals
of varying shades OF lilac, lavender and
blue and deep purple. In albino forms
they may be pinkish or even white.
The five white petals are prolonged into
spurs which contain at the end sue
of nectar, the quest of species of long
billed moths and of robber bees who
do not hesitate to tear open the spurA.
and take the sweet fluid without rem
dering any return to the plant in trans
ferring pollen from one flower to an
other. While there are numerous
| stamens there are but five pistils which
ripen In fOllicles and scatter their seed
by the winds shaking the slowly open
ing pods.
THE columbine has faint, delicious
fragrance which is very noticeable
when the winds Of the mountains
sweep the odor toward an observer
who has the windward advantage OF
a group of these flowers. The names.
of our state flower have the following.
derivation: The generic name Of aqil-
egia is from the Latin, meaning an ea-
gle whose claws the spurs were
thought to suggest. Its specific name,
cOerulea, of course refers to its pre-
dominating color. The English name
is supposed to have been derived from,
a fancied resemblance of number OF
doves drinking from a common dish.
Although the general custom Of select
ing a state flower by the school chii-
dren Of the state is generally regarded
as complete, the Legislature that met
In 1899 thought 1t necessary to pass a
bill making the lavender and white
columbine our state flower descrip-
ton perhaps not very accurate for q
color description, and as we have sew
eral specimens in this state of similar
colors, anything but distinctive one.'
t~<%+%<~<%<%<&<&+~<@<%+%
For the Twenty-First Century.
Colorado Springs, Aug. 5.-The GEN.
tury chest, containing written mes
sages to be read by residents Of Colo
| RADIO Springs q hundred years hence.