498 THE GARDENER. (Nov. 



of the Alstroemerias, which we may class among herbaceous liliaceous 

 bulbs, are of the most showy and Lasting character. Some of them are 

 still in flower : the variety of their colour and pencilling rivals the 

 Gladiolus. They have all stood the last severe winter on a rather wet 

 border, without the slightest protection. On a warm deep border in 

 the southern counties they are gorgeous. The Gladiolus itself, in all its 

 varieties, is best treated just like herbaceous plants. In well-prepared 

 soil they, in a very few years, make large massive stools from single 

 bulbs if let alone. We have a large quantity in a raised bed, with the 

 bulbs very near the surface, which have not been disturbed for years, 

 and the frosts of last winter did not affect them in the least. Now, in 

 the middle of October, they are a profusion of flowers. Their protec- 

 tion was a slight covering of bog earth and snow. There are several of 

 the narrow-leaved small-flowered species or allies of the Gladiolus 

 which will be found to be perfectly hardy in well-drained soil, such as 

 the Watsonias and Antholyzas. The Tritonias will sometimes bridge 

 over the winter with protection ; but there is no use going into doubt- 

 ful plants when there are so many perfectly hardy and of equal beauty 

 — as, for instance, the Tigridias, Spanish and English Irises, and the 

 whole range of Liliums, to the beauty of which the public are suffi- 

 ciently aroused. There are two of the Anemones which we wish spe- 

 cially to mention — namely, Nemorosa plena and apennina, — the first 

 the double form of the well-known Wood Anemone ; the other a plant 

 of precisely the same habit, but with a beautiful blue flower, a little 

 brighter than the common Wood Anemone. There is another class of 

 plants which may be classed among herbaceous plants though not 

 liliaceous, and whose roots are not strictly bulbous — the European 

 Cyclamens. The autumn-flowering ones are now gay on the rockery. 

 They do not seem very particular as to soil, and also seem indifferent 

 as to wet or dryness, although stagnant water would certainly kill 

 them. In some parts of the country the native C. Hedersefolia is 

 plentiful on dry banks, and for a time are as bright and interesting as 

 the Primulas. They are so easily raised from seed that it is surprising 

 they are not sought after for outdoor culture, as the Persian varieties 

 are for the conservatory. The Squire's Gardener. 



THE AMATEUR'S GARDEN. 



POTATOES. 



The Potatoe is decidedly the most important vegetable crop grown, 

 and, unfortunately, the most precarious. A moderately heavy loam on 

 a whinstone bottom is the best soil for growing Potatoes to perfection, 

 and a tough clay the worst. Whatever kind of soil we may have at our 

 disposal must be made friable by thorough cultivation to grow them as 

 good as possible. As a rule, garden Potatoes are not half cultivated, 



