THE FLORIST. 161 



hese remained above ground ; and many friends, to whom I have 

 given the Tigridia, have seen it blossom but for one season. 



The most difficult part in the cultivation of this plant is the 

 ripening of the bulbs in autumn, and this, I fear, in our climate, can 

 rarely be accomplished (certainly not after wet and cold summers), 

 since the foliage invariably retains its green hue until it is either 

 destroyed by frost, or cut off by the merciless gardener. 



The following plan, which 1 have adopted in bringing these bulbs 

 more gradually into a state of rest, has, for the most part, answered 

 the purpose remarkably well. In the month of October, as soon 

 as I apprehend frost is about to set in, the plants are carefully lifted 

 from the soil, and packed closely in large flower-pots, the interstices 

 between them being filled up with some of the soil from which they 

 were removed ; great care being taken to injure as little as possible 

 the fibres which are attached to the bulbs. They are then watered, 

 though sparingly, and the pots are placed in an airy part of a green- 

 house. Here they remain during the whole winter, and if their foli- 

 age has escaped being materially injured by frost, a portion of it 

 often remains green till after Christmas, and that of seedling varie- 

 ties frequently during the whole winter ; for some of these are much 

 later in flowering than their parents. This mode of bringing the 

 plants gradually into a state of rest answers much better, and is 

 much more consistent with their natural habits, than the ruinous 

 system of cutting off the leaves while yet green, and drying the roots 

 more suddenly, the common practice with the generality of gardeners. 



Though the above plan of managing the Tiger Flower answers 

 well, nevertheless the strongest and most luxuriant plants of this 

 flower in my garden are those the bulbs of which remain in the 

 ground the whole winter ; and I am inclined to believe that the Tiger 

 Flower might always be advantageously allowed to remain in the 

 ground during the whole year. There need be no fear of the bulbs 

 being injured by frost, provided they had a sufficient covering of old 

 tan or partially decayed leaves ; and they certainly appear to have 

 fewer enemies in the ground than out of it. 



In front and at the east and west ends of my greenhouse the Tiger 

 Flower remains in the ground during the whole winter without any 

 kind of covering. The bulbs are generally taken up in the month of 

 April for the purpose of dividing them and separating the offsets (for 

 they increase with astonishing rapidity in this situation), and I 

 rarely find more than half-a-dozen or so decayed, out of some hun- 

 dreds. In this situation the soil is so far under the influence of the 

 greenhouse flue, which is heated in frosty weather to protect Gera- 

 niums and other plants, that, though its surface is frozen in very 

 severe weather, the cold has never penetrated so deep as to injure 

 the bulbs, which are about three inches below the surface, and within 

 five or six of the foundation wall. Last winter some bulbs were left 

 in the ground, in the most exposed part of my garden, with but a 

 thin covering of partially decayed leaves, and these without an excep- 

 tion were uninjured ; but the season was a mild one. Next season 

 I shall subject a larger number to similar treatment. 



