THE FLORAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



189 



45°. The following are a few of the most useful greenhouse species : — 

 Crenata, Bowie!, floribunda, pulcliella, Simsii, elegans, caprina, speciosa, 

 tetraphylla, versicolor. 



0,1'alis crenata. — The tubers of these are eaten either boiled or roasted, 

 and by some are considered rechercM. The stalks are said to be superior 

 to rhubarb for tarts, having a flavour resembling pine-apple. The leaves 

 are said to make an elegant salad. For purposes of ornament, this is 

 one of the most useful. The flowers are of a bright orange colour, and 

 are fine and showy ; it never produces seed, and is therefore propagated 

 from offsets. The tubers should be planted singly in small pots in April, 

 and be placed on a gentle heat in a frame, or put in a peach-house or 

 vinery, and be kept freely aired till May ; then plant them out in light 

 rich soil, three feet apart. As soon as the stems have grown sufficiently 

 to allow of earth being heaped over their stems, they must be very care- 

 fully moulded up ; the stems will throw out fibres into this additional 

 soil, and there the best tubers are produced. 



O. tetrapJvjlla produces an edible root, which may be used as a sub- 

 stitute for the potato. This is not pai"- 

 ticular about soil, but requires, like tl^e 

 preceding, to be started under cover, so 

 as to get it planted out strong when all 

 danger of frost is over, 



O. Deppei is propagated by means 

 of the scaly bulbs, which grow in a 

 cluster round the crown of the root. 

 To insure a good crop, plant the bulbs 

 in small pots in March in any good 

 sandy soil, and place in a cold frame. 

 If kept only moderately moist and freely 

 ventilated, without being exposed to 

 cold winds, the bulbs will have filled 

 the pots with roots by the end of April, 

 when they may be planted out in the 

 open ground in light rich soil, and in 

 a western aspect, fifteen inches apart 

 every way. Keep the ground clear of weeds, and give plenty of water 

 in dry weather. In October take up the roots, and store away in sand, 

 and prepare them for table. The tubers must be washed and peeled, 

 and then boiled in gravy, and served up hot with brown butter sauce. 

 Deppei may also be treated as a hardy plant, but there is some risk of 

 loss or of unsatisfactory production. In the southern counties, sheltered 

 borders would probably suit it, without any more protection than a 

 covering of litter during frost. 



O.Jlorihunda. — At the end of February divide the fleshy roots, re- 

 serving to each piece a growing bud. Lay them on a pan of sand, and 

 cover them with the same material, and place them immediately on a 

 tank, or bark bed in a stove or propagating-house, to start them in a brisk 

 heat. In about twelve days they will be growing freely. Now prepare 

 60-sized pots, with equal parts loam, peat, rotten dung, and sand, 

 turn the plants out of the pans, and pot them separately and carefully, 

 and put them in heat again, and with very little water till they begin to 

 grow; then cool them down, and place them in the greenhouse. If care- 



OXALIS COENICULAIA EUBEA. 



