160 THE FLORIST. 



he who would have it otherwise, forgets that he is in a world of pro- 

 bation, and discipline, and hardness. We are urged forward only by 

 the goads and spurs of our wants. But who ever regretted the intro- 

 duction of coffee from Arabia, tea from China, or muslin from India, 

 because the use of these things is inseparably connected with dis- 

 gust at acorn diet, and at the homespun manufactures of our ances- 

 tors ? The refinement of our pleasures, in changing their objects, 

 does not necessarily abridge them. Nor, though it were sure to 

 introduce a corresponding loss at the other end of the scale, would 

 it lessen by an hairsbreadth the sum of human enjoyment, while 

 assuredly it is capable of a beneficial effect in humanising the man. 

 And therefore I think ladies especially should pause before they find 

 fault with a pursuit, which may, in its degree, become subservient to 

 one of the great ends they themselves are destined to fulfil on our 

 behalf. Iota. 



[To be continued.] 



TIGER FLOWERS (TIGRIDIAS). 



BY DR. MACLEAN. 



(Concluded from p. 91.) 



The Tiger Flower will grow and blossom tolerably well in almost 

 any soil that is not very tenacious, or retentive of moisture ; but 

 that which appears to suit it best, and in which I have grown it with 

 the greatest success, w r as composed of about equal parts of old vege- 

 table mould and cow- dung, with a third, or at least a fourth part, 

 white sand. This compost should be at least two or three years 

 old before it is used ; and each bulb, at the time of planting, should 

 be surrounded with a small quantity of sand, or, what in my opinion 

 is much better, and which I have generally used, a mixture of equal 

 parts of white sand and very old vegetable mould. Very old sandy 

 peat has sometimes been employed for the same purpose, and pro- 

 bably nothing would answer better, provided it were frequently 

 turned over, and sweetened by exposure to the atmosphere for some 

 time previous to its being used. In the above-mentioned soil, the 

 depth of which ought not to be less than eighteen inches, the Tiger 

 Flower grows with excessive luxuriance, many of its flower-stems 

 measuring nearly three feet in length, and each stem producing in 

 succession from six to ten flowers. These, it is true, last but for a 

 few hours ; but the rapid succession in which they are produced 

 when many bulbs are grown, the excessive richness of their colours, 

 and the endless variety of tints in a bed of seedlings, more than 

 compensate for the short duration of each individual flower. 



From the time the Tiger Flower first appears above ground, 

 until it is taken up in autumn, it appears to suffer little or nothing 

 from the attacks of insects, birds, or, indeed, any kind of enemy ; 

 but I never yet met with any one who had attempted its cultiva- 

 tion, that did not acknowledge he lost many bulbs during the time 



