THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 225 



THE CALOCHOETUS. 



( Tfitli Coloured Illustration of OalocJiortiis venustm.) 



JEW of the less known bardy and lialf-hardy bulbs so well 

 deserve the attention of amateurs as the Calochortus. 

 That it is comparatively unknown is no fault of ours, for 

 we have many times directed attention to it, and have 

 immediately received many letters of inquiry for its 

 whereabouts in the seed and bulb trade. Five-and-twenty years 

 ago I obtained, through a friend from California, bulbs of C. venustus 

 (here figured) and G. luteus, which is equally worthy of a coloured 

 plate. They were grown with ixias and sparaxis, and gave no 

 trouble at all, and they were so easily multiplied by seeds and off- 

 sets that I was soon in possession of more stock than I needed, and 

 parted with the surplus to friends in the bulb trade, for the caloc- 

 hortus, though well known as a book bulb, was not known in the 

 market. Whether my frequent recommendation of it and occa- 

 sional distribution of stock should entitle me to the credit of having 

 made a trade plant of it I will not inquire, but I must record the 

 fact that it may now be found in several of the current bulb cata- 

 logues, and Mr, Bull, of King's Eoad, Chelsea, has lately introduced 

 a series of new species, the merits of which I have yet to discover 

 by the simple and pleasing process of growing them. I observe 

 also that several are entered in the catalogues of Ant. Eoozen and 

 Son, Overween, near Haarlem, and in the lily list of Messrs. 

 Teutschel and Co. of Colchester. 



The Calochortus is a liliaceous plant, characterized by the three 

 distinct and bold divisions of the perianth, which in all the species 

 are prettily marked, and in the characteristic G. venustus are 

 brilliantly painted, and suggest to the fancy a butterfly with ex- 

 panded wings. To grow any of the species is easy enough. In a 

 sheltered peat border, in which ixias thrive, they may be planted in 

 August and September, and left to themselves, for they are as hardy 

 as ixias certainly, and probably some degrees hardier. I have never 

 so grown them, but have always treated them as pot plants, potting 

 them in sandy peat, or a rich and light loamy compost, and giving 

 them cool greenhouse or frame culture all the winter. They come 

 into flower at a time when choice plants are scarce, and are at their 

 best in the latter days of August and early days of September. As 

 soon as their leaves begin to die down, they should be repotted to 

 insure a good bloom the following season. They make seed freely, 

 and the seed should be sown in boxes as soon as ripe, and treated 

 the same as lily seeds — that is to say, the boxes should be kept in a 

 brick pit, somewhat shaded and always moist. S. H. 



The Genus Echeveria is carefully reviewed by Professor Morrsn in the 

 Belgique Hortiaole for May and June of the present year. Tiie article is accom- 

 panied with a figure of E. giblijlora, v. metallica, and a few useful woodcuts. 



August. 



15 



