In his elaborate account of Amaryllidacese, Mr. Herbert 

 notices four varieties of this plant. But I conceive that one 

 of them (No. 2.), the A. lineatiflora is more referable to 

 A. pulchra than to Ligtu^ if it is not different from both ; 

 and another (No. 4.), noticed from dried specimens in my 

 herbarium, to A. Pelegrina. 



It is not intelligible why those very beautiful flowers 

 should not be more generally cultivated, for surely there is 

 no genus more likely to reward the care of a skilful gar- 

 dener. It would appear however that they are not general 

 favourites, for although the Horticultural Society have en- 

 couraged the growth of them by assigning the genus a 

 separate place in the list of objects for which medals are 

 offered at their Garden meetings, yet there has at present 

 been little competition. For the information of those who 

 are disposed to turn their attention to the subject, and 

 who have the opportunity of procuring new species from 

 South America, where the most showy species still remain 

 to be introduced, the following extract is taken from 

 Mr. Herbert's excellent work. 



" Being chiefly natives of alpine situations, these beau- 

 tiful plants require free air, and (with the exception of 

 Caryophyllacea amongst those we possess) very little pro- 

 tection, except from severe frost. A. Hookeri, planted in 

 front of one of my stoves, formed a large patch, the foliage 

 resisting all frost in that situation, and flowered throughout 

 the summer ; but the two last dry summers have greatly re- 

 duced it. They are ver}^ thirsty plants in the season of their 

 growth, and should be abundantly watered in dry weather 

 at that time." 



" A. psittacina, as well as hsemantha and aurantiaca, 

 flowers well in the open ground, if covered with straw or a 

 thick coat of leaves in the winter. The soil should be light, 

 and the tubers set pretty deep ; and any heading that w^ould 

 throw the wet off" in the winter will be found advantageous. 

 It is absolutely necessary to pick the slugs off* the border, 

 which will otherwise devour every shoot at its first appear- 

 ance above ground ; and it will be found advantageous to 

 cover the bed in the spring with dry sawdust, which the 

 slugs do not like to crawl over, and will keep moisture in 

 the ground. A top covering of peat is also disagreeable to 

 slugs, which I find very troublesome in biting the flower- 

 stalks of Gladioli on sandy loam, but they rarely do so on a 

 border of black earth." 



