IN THE early days of the Columbian Exposition, before people had ceased to wonder at the unexpected and unusual sights, there were beautiful displays of plants in flower, on a scale never before attempted, at least in this part of the world.

Those wise enough to respond to the invitation to visit the long, low green houses in Jackson Park, before the more pretentious Horticultural Building was ready for use, will never forget the royal mass of blossoms which greeted their eyes as they passed through long aisles of bloom.

The announcement that the cineraria was on exhibition meant little to many, but to those who found their way to the park during the chilly spring days and patiently trudged over unfinished paths, and through rubbish and incompleteness, the announcement opened the door to a sight so wonderfully fine and complete, so astonishing, and so delightful, that to look was to exclaim and admire, and to admire was to remember, and, months after, to long for another sight of that billowy mass of pinky-purplish bloom.

The CompositÆ, the family of plants to which the cinerarias belong, contains about seven hundred and sixty genera and over ten thousand species, embracing approximately one-tenth of all the flowering forms. This is the largest family of plants and includes the goldenrod, the sunflower, the aster, the chrysanthemum, the thistle, the lettuce, the dandelion, and many others. The species are widely distributed, though more common in temperate or hot regions, the largest number being found in the Americas.

Though a family of herbs, there are a few shrubs and in the tropics a small number of trees. The cultivated forms are numerous, and some are among our most beautiful fall plants.

The flowers are collected together in heads, and sometimes are of two kinds (composite). Using the sunflower for an example we find a disk of tubular flowers in the center and, growing around it, a row of strap-shaped flowers, while in the dandelion they are all strap-shaped, and in some other species all are tubular.

The cineraria is an excellent illustration of the composite form, which bears both kinds of flowers.

The name cineraria (Latin, cinerarius, from cinis, ashes) was given to these plants because of the grayish down that covers the surface of the leaves.

The cinerarias form a large genus of practically herbaceous plants, and are chiefly natives of southern Africa and southern and eastern Europe. The varieties vary greatly from white to pinkish-purple and through various shades to dark, bluish-purple.

They are quite easily cultivated, but are house plants in temperate latitudes. They are peculiarly liable to attacks of insects, plant-lice (Aphides) being especially an enemy.

The florist's varieties are chiefly produced from the species Cineraria cruenta. Beautiful hybrids have been developed from this and other species, and the flower certainly deserves the popularity it has attained through sterling merit.