DECEMBER. 365 



ashes or tanners' bark, then taken up early in spring, re-potted, thinned 

 to three or four stems, and treated as above directed. They will thus 

 amply repay any little care and attention that may have been bestowed 

 on them. In conclusion, I may remark that to grow the Phlox in 

 perfection, the plants should be renewed from cuttings at least every 

 three years, either for pot or out-door culture. 



John Downie. 

 West Coates Kurscri/, Edinburgh. 



TRITONIA AUREA. 

 The Tritonia and the allied genera — the Ixias, Sparaxis, Watsonias, 

 &c. — belong to a family of Cape bulbous plants which deserve more 

 general cultivation. In bygone times this family of plants was 

 more frequently met with than at the present day. We do occasionally 

 meet with a few plants occupying a sunny spot in the flower garden, 

 or in pots in the greenhouse, where their gay and various coloured 

 flowers never fail to excite our admiration. 



The species which forms the subject of the present notice is of recent 

 introduction, and so far promises to become a great favourite. As a 

 pot plant it forms a desirable acquisition for the decoration of the 

 greenhouse during the latter part of summer and early autumn months, 

 the colour of the flowers making a beautiful contrast with the greater 

 portion of plants in bloom at that season. It may here be remarked 

 that the bright orange yellow of this Tritonia is exceedingly rare 

 amongst our stove and greenhouse plants : of Orchids, some of the 

 Epidendrums have a resemblance to it, and amongst stove plants the old 

 Cestrum aurantiacum is one of the best that approaches somewhat the 

 colour of the Tritonia, and is, by-the-by, a bush that ought to be in 

 every collection of plants. Sandy loam and leaf soil or peat form a 

 desirable compost for the Tritonia, and the bulbs should be re-potted as 

 soon as they are thoroughly matured. 



If this is done, and the pots placed in a pit where protection from 

 severe frost can be given them, it will be all they require till they 

 commence growing ; when this is the case, and the pots are partly 

 filled with roots, they will then — and not till then — require a moderate 

 supply of water, increasing the quantity as the plants advance in 

 growth. During the summer months the plants may be removed to 

 the open air, or the glass removed from the pit or frame in which they 

 are standing, merely placing them over the pots to protect them from 

 heavy rain. 



By the end of July the flower-stems will be making their appear- 

 ance, and they may then be removed to the greenhouse, where they 

 will soon commence to bloom, and with the assistance of an occasional 

 watering with liquid manure they will continue in perfection for a great 

 length of time. 



The colour of this plant is one that is much desired for the flower- 



