THE FLORAL WOELD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



227 



as after that period no advantage is gained 

 by allowing them to remain above ground. 

 I make drills three inches deep across, the 

 beds already prepared, wherein 1 plant the 

 bulbs three inches asunder, covering them 

 with sand, and raking the beds, even when 

 the work is completed. In my nursery, I 

 have devoted a nine-light frame to this 

 class of plants, with compost as described, 

 by which I am enabled to protect with 

 glass when circumstances may dictate its 

 necessity. Of course, when glass is not at 

 hand, mats or other covering can be em- 

 ployed. I also grow a great quantity in 

 pots, the soil used being similar to that 

 already described, with a good and efficient 

 drainage. They are placed in a cold frame, 

 where they are allowed to remain during 

 the winter months, but on the approach of 

 spring can be removed to the greenhouse 

 or conservatory. Before blooming they 

 must receive a good supply of water, but 

 after flowering only a moderate quantity 

 should be given, when they may be placed 

 in the open air until such time as the bulbs 

 have received the returning sap from the 

 leaves, when they should be taken up and 

 placed in paper bags in a dry situation till 

 the next planting season arrives. Sparaxis 

 and Ixia are readily increased by offsets, 

 which are produced iii abundance. If an 

 amateur wishes to succeed with the least 

 expense, he should pay every attention to 

 the growth of offsets, as by them he will 



be enabled to maintain a good supply of 



blooming bulbs. 



I plant the offsets in deep seed-pans, 

 about an inch below the soil, where they 

 are allowed to remain for at least two 

 years ; if any of the bulbs seem disposed 

 to send up flower-stems, they are im- 

 mediately taken off, thereby retaining 

 strength to the bulb, which would have 

 been exhausted in the production of a pre- 

 mature blossom. On this point many per- 

 sons have failed, and consequently given up 

 their cultivation on account of the pre- 

 sumed difficulty of maintaining strong 

 blossoming bulbs. When procured from 

 the nurseries, they are bloomed, and pro- 

 duce offsets ; with this effort the bulbs 

 are deteriorated in size and strength, 

 and, consequently, not blooming so well as 

 the preceding season, they are with the 

 whole tribe discarded as not worth cultiva- 

 tion ; but, if the offsets are encouraged year 

 after year, a regular succession of strong 

 blooming bulbs will be maintained. The 

 Sparaxis and Ixia produce seed abundantly, 

 and by hybi'idizing new varieties are ob- 

 tained ; but several years intervene before 

 the seedling bulb acquires strength to 

 bloom. They are cultivated to great per- 

 fection in Guernsey and Jersey, where they 

 flourish admirably in the open border, 

 without the least protection. 



W. E. Rendle, F.H.S. 



WINTEE PROTECTION OF BEDDING PLANTS. 



At the end of September, or early in Oc- 

 tober, is the best time for placing half- 

 hardy plants under protection ; for not 

 only the coldness, but also the dampness 

 of the weather, as it usually occurs after 

 this period of the year, is very hurtful to 

 deUcate plants in pots, when they are fully 

 exposed ; the pots become saturated with 

 water. The consequence of this is, that 

 the roots perish, and the plants ai'C there- 

 fore rendered sickly, and frequently perish 

 on the arrival of winter. In providing a 

 pit for their protection through the incle- 

 ment season of winter, a place should be 

 selected for it, which may be rendered as 

 dry as possible, and where, at the same 

 time, it would be sheltered from the north 

 winds ; it should be so constructed that 

 the plants would be elevated above the 

 surface of the exterior ground, and not 

 sunk beneath it, as is frequently the case, 



and this will provide for the more ready 

 emission of dampness and free circulation 

 of air. The bottom should be concreted 

 to the thickness of six inches, and the 

 surface should form an inclined plane to- 

 wards the back, for the damp will more 

 readily escape there ; a channel should be 

 made to extend the whole length of the 

 pit, connected with a small aperture 

 through the wall at the lowest extremity ; 

 above the concrete put on a layer of coarse 

 gravel or stones, regulating its thickness 

 by tlie height of the plants, and on the 

 top of this place a thin layer of coal-ashes. 

 In making these arrangements, always 

 bear in mind that plants require to be 

 placed near the glass, not only to secure 

 a due share of light, but also to secure an 

 additional advantage of no small import- 

 ance, viz., the drying up the damp, from 

 the effects of which far more plants perish 



