It is a rare species, and very shy flowerer, having never 
bloomed at Highclere till last summer. 
“ The bulb,” we are informed by Mr. Gowen, “ is 
slightly caudescent, so short as to be scarcely defined, the 
leaves diverging a short distance above the root-stock, 
so as, together with their stiff, almost upright posture, 
to give the plant somewhat of the aspect of an Agave. 
Leaves very rigid, concave, dark, dull, unpolished green, 
edged with a very harsh, minutely serrated cartilaginous 
margin. ` Flowers numerous, middle-sized, white. Peduncles 
very short; germen and tube tinged with red. - Tube 
cylindrical, 4 inches long. Lacinie of the limb linear, a 
quarter of an inch wide, equal to the tube in length. Fila- 
ments ascending, crimson, considerably shorter than the 
limb. Style shorter than the filaments. Flowers consider- 
ably fragrant.” 
It is well known to our readers that there exists much 
difference of opinion among Botanists as to the limits which 
nature has fixed between the genera Crinum and Amaryllis; 
some contending than none but plants with a rotate equal 
limb to the flower, linear Segments, and spreading stamens, 
are referable to Crinum, and therefore excluding from that 
genus, with Linneus and Mr. Ker, such plants as Amaryllis 
longifolia of L'Héritier, and Amaryllis zeylanica of Linneus; 
others being of opinion that the two latter, with their allies, 
must be considered genuine species of Crinum, on account 
of the testa of their seeds being in the same remarkable 
state of anamorphosis as the testa of undoubted Crinums. 
Upon this subject Mr. Gowen has favoured us with some 
interesting observations, which, with his permission, we 
here insert. 
“ I am persuaded that these plants, so closely allied 
to Crinum, but now placed along with Amaryllis, are true 
Crinums, and ought, at most, to form only a subdivision of 
that genus. They all produce seeds absolutely úndistin- 
guishable from those of the regular Crinums, either in 
appearance or structure, and quite dissimilar to those of an 
Amaryllis. With the regular Crinums, they all breed with 
the greatest facility. I have raised many crops; Mr. William 
Herbert more; and these produce fertile seeds. Last 
spring, I raised seedlings from the plant, which were 
obtained by bringing together the bulbous Amaryllis (Cri- 
