12 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



house plants, and no notice was taken of 

 it further than to water when necessary. 

 About the middle of October it was placed 

 in a coach-house with a number of fuchsias 

 and things of that sort for the winter ; it 

 did not, from that time until the middle 

 of March, receive water more than four 

 or five times, indeed, water was not given 

 until the young wood and the leaves were 

 absolutely shrivelled. About the middle 

 of March it was well watered several 

 times a day for a few successive days, in 

 order to get the ball of earth and mass of 

 roots thoroughly saturated, after which it 

 waspotted into a 2 1-sized pot, using nothing 

 but pure forest loam, set in a pan of water 

 and placed in the warmest and lightest 

 part of the greenhouse, with its top very 

 nearly touching the glass. Here it began 

 growing very rapidly ; the pot was very 

 quickly filled with roots, which also 

 covered the surface of the soil in the pot, 

 presenting much the same healthy appear- 

 ance as the roots of the cucumber under 

 genial treatment. The flowers began to 

 expand about the end of June, were very 

 large, and of a deep rose colour, and the 

 plant remained for two months one of 

 the most beautiful and attractive objects 

 I have ever seen. The pan in which the 

 plant stood was a 12-sized pan ; neverthe- 

 less, though it contained so much more 

 water than might be considered necessary 

 for the plant, it was filled, and absorbed by 

 the plant nearly every day. When the plant 

 was out of bloom the flower-stems were 

 cut out, and it was set out of doors till 

 the middle of October, when it was placed 

 in its old position in the coach-house with 

 fuchsias, etc., where it is now undergoing 

 the drying process. 



ALSTRCEMEKIA PELEGKINA. 



. There are a number of fine old plants 

 which have been long introduced into the 

 country, which are nothing near so well 

 known as their merits deserve, and which 

 there is a danger of overlooking altogether 

 on account of the large influx of more 

 popular novelties ; and you would be con- 

 ferring a real benefit upon the lovers of 

 Flora, if you could say anything that 

 would serve to bring into more general 

 culture the beautiful Alstrcemeria pele- 

 grina. _ 



This fine old plant is a native of Peru, 

 and was introduced to our gardens in 

 1753. It is a most useful plant, either 

 for pot culture or for the open border. 



Very nearly the same treatment as that 

 bestowed upon Lilium lancifolium and its 

 varieties, will suit this plant. After it 

 has bloomed and ripened its seed, it 

 should be allowed to rest, and have no 

 water given to it until about the middle 

 of November, when the mould should bo 

 shaken entirely from the roots, and then 

 potted in equal parts of leaf-mould and 

 loam, with about one-sixth of silver-sand, 

 or, wanting leaf-mould, very rotten manure 

 will be equally good for them. Let each 

 root be placed in as small a pot as it will 

 conveniently go into, water them, and 

 place them in the greenhouse, where they 

 will have abundance of light and air. 

 They will make rapid growth, more par- 

 ticularly at the roots, all through the 

 winter, and by the middle or end of March 

 will require to be placed in pots two sizes 

 larger, in the same soil as before. Here 

 they must be allowed to bloom. As the 

 shoots advance they should be secured 

 neatly to sticks, about a foot and a-half 

 in length, to preserve a neat appearance. 

 They will come into bloom about the 

 middle of June, and remain some weeks 

 in flower, and, with their numerous large 

 flowers of a rose, blush, yellow and black 

 spots, will not yield to any of their con- 

 geners in interest and beauty. 



Although this plant is very impatient 

 of frost, it is, nevertheless, one of the very 

 best perennials that can be grown in the 

 open border. If it is planted in a border 

 at the foot of a south or west wall, in 

 light, friable soil, it will continue to 

 flourish many years without any attention 

 whatever, and become a large patch, 

 throwing up scores of flowers in the course 

 of each summer. When the root is first 

 inserted in the soil, let it be planted five 

 or six inches deep, so as to be beyond the 

 reach of injury by frost, and it will take 

 care of itself afterwards, for all Alstroe- 

 merias, instead of rising to the surface, 

 have a tendency to drive their crowns 

 deeper into the soil year by year. It will 

 sometimes happen that a fine crop of 

 young stems will be destroyed by a late 

 spring frost ; this is discouraging, but 

 they never fail almost immediately to send 

 up a fresh supply. 



There is a white variety of this plant 

 which is very interesting, but not near so 

 beautiful as the species. 



William Chitty. 

 Stamford Mill. 



