OCTOBER. 251 



very suitable for this purpose ; so likewise is the Caadytuft {Iberis 

 umbellata) . 



In speaking of bulbous plants at page 183, nothing was said 

 about the beautiful genus Gladiolus (Corn Flag). Some of the varie- 

 ties which have been raised by cross-breeding between G. cardinalis, 

 floribundus, psittacinus, and others, are exquisitely lovely, and are 

 every year becoming more numerous and diversified. Among the 

 best obtainable at a moderate price are Gandavensis, Jenny Lind, 

 Madame Sontag, and Queen Victoria. The nurserymen's catalogues 

 contain many newer kinds, but these are as yet too costly to risk in 

 the unprotected ground through the winter, although most of the 

 parent species are found to stand well when planted rather deeply in 

 well-drained beds, the surface of which is slightly covered with rotten 

 leaves. The hybrid kinds, however, are well worth cultivating in 

 pots, where there is a greenhouse or a conservatory to decorate, as 

 in addition to their great beauty, they blossom at a season when it 

 is not easy to maintain a gay appearance in such structures. The 

 same might be said of the three Japan Lilies, commonly known as 

 Lillum lancifolium album, L. I. rubrum, and L. I. punctatum, — names 

 that require to be corrected, as they appear to have originated in 

 gardens. The plants themselves, however, are great acquisitions, and, 

 when grown in pots, make one of the principal ornaments of our 

 plant-houses in the autumn months. They have been recommended 

 for open-ground culture; but further experience has taught that they 

 are not well adapted for that purpose, blossoming so late in autumn 

 that their beauty is very liable to be spoilt by the rains and frosts of 

 that season. Two other dwarfer-growing species, L. longiflorum 

 and L. japonlcura, have very large white blossoms, and are very 

 handsome when well grown in pots. L. testaceum is comparatively 

 new ; it grows tall, and has flowers of a peculiar pale copper-colour, 

 singular, but not very showy. There are many hardy Lilies, the most 

 desirable of which are, Lillum candidum, the common White Lily ; 

 L. tigrinum, the Tiger Lily ; L. bulbiferum, the common Orange 

 Lily ; L. Pomponium, the Scarlet Pompone ; L. Martagon (purple), 

 and L. M. pubescens (yellow). 



Tigridia pavonia and T. conchiiflora, although literally flowers of 

 a day, are most gaudy in their individual blossoms ; and these, though 

 transient, are produced in succession ; so that a small bed, or even a 

 patch of five or seven plants, will mostly exhibit expanded flowers. If 

 the bulbs are taken up at the beginning of winter and put singly into 

 small pots, they answer well for turning out early in June, between 

 any of the spring-flowering plants mentioned at page 41. Botanists 

 make two species of Tigridia, yet they appear to diff'er only in colour, 

 and seedlings have been raised nearly intermediate between the two. 

 Another plant, the tuberous roots of which require winter pro- 

 tection, is the Marvel oiVerxi {MirabiUs jalapa). The flowers are 

 of various colours, — red, yellow, white, and striped. This plant is 

 easily managed, merely requiring the tubers to be taken out of the 

 ground at the approach of winter, stored in a box of dry earth out of 

 the reach of frost, and planted out in May. To maintain a stock of 



