1878. 



.liV2> HORTICULTURIST. 



301 



Koch and Jean Sisley took on an extra garb of 

 loveliness and even of size in the flower ; while 

 Oxalis versicolor became so dainty and fairy- 

 like a beauty as to pass beyond the knowledge 

 of its former owner, who had never known its 

 perfections, or its capabilities. This house re- 

 quired very little fuel. One night, however, it 

 was forgotten altogether, and jack frost swooped 

 down with a keen blade and smote so fiercely 

 that the delicate plants never again lifted their 

 heads. Great lamentation ensued, among owner 

 aaid friends ; but it would not restore the lost 

 beauty, nor even build the fire. 



I heard a Florist say it did not pay Mm to 

 cultivate his flowers all the year, and then by a 

 night's neglect, loose all he had gained ; so when 

 severe weather approached he sat up at night and 

 mended his fires, and so saved when others lost. 

 "Well lived, well saved," says the proverb. 



AMARYLLIS AND ORCHIDS. 



BY P. n. O., AUSTIN, TEXAS. 



In the February number of the Gardener's 

 Monthly, I noticed a^^desire of G. H., of Glen- 

 dale, Miss., that some correspondent would tell 

 a little about Amaryllids and the plants related 

 to them now. Amaryllidacese . and Orchidacete 

 are the plants which are especially my favorites, 

 and I was pleased with the article by Miss A. G., 

 in the number for May, but I did not find in the 

 list she gave, the very best (as far as my knowl- 

 edge goes as yet) of the whole Amaryllis order, 

 viz : EucharLs Amazonica. Before I proceed 

 further, I nmst state that I try here to raise Or- 

 chids and Amaryllids without artificial heat in a 

 sort of large pit, twenty-two by fourteen feet, the 

 walls only elevated a foot above the ground, and 

 the eastern half of the roof and part of the 

 western covered with glass. In tlfis pit I suc- 

 ceeded in blooming the following Orchids: 

 Phajus grandifolius, P. Wallichii, Calanthe Veit- 

 chii, Dendrobium nobile; while I expect to 

 bloom soon Calanthe vestita, C. veratrifolia, 

 Coelogyne cristata, and some others. Now 

 with accommodations as stated above, of 

 the whole Amaryllis order, the easiest to flower 

 were Imantophyllum miniatum and I. Cyrtan- 

 thiflorum,next comes Eucharis Amazonia, which 

 I have had in bloom in the following months : 

 January, March, April, July, August, Septem- 

 ber and December, though the plant with me 

 has a decided preference to bloom in July, and 

 December. Of Amaryllis I bloomed Johnsonii, 



and one sent to me by James M. Thorburn, in 

 New York, under the name of Aulica, which it 

 was not, being white with two red stripes in each 

 petal. A. Johnsonii is hardy here. Ismenecala- 

 thinum I could not flower in a pot, but planted out 

 in the gardens, it bloomed finely. Ha^manthus, of 

 which I have bloomed tigrinus, are too coarse 

 and clumsy for my taste. Crinums, those I know 

 are hardy here, except C. amabile. Brunsvigia 

 Coranica I bloomed, but the flower lacks beauty. 

 The peduncles of the flowers are long, thick 

 and stiff", and the flowers too small. Pancratium 

 maritinum is hardy here, but the flowers are too 

 flimsy, and last only a single day. I tried one, 

 Alstroemeria, but the difficulties with this plant are 

 the same as with raising fine Asparagus here ; the 

 plant starts in Fall, and ceases to grow in mid- 

 winter ; in Spring it grows again, and finally rests 

 during the hot Summer months. Griffinia I have 

 not bloomed yet. Ilabranthus pratensis also re- 

 fused to flower. Now Mr. Editor if you find this 

 worthy to appear in the Gardener's Monthly, 

 you may insert it, and in case you find such scraps 

 of information good enough, I may perhaps send 

 you in another letter remarks in regard to 

 plants that are hardy here, as indigenous to 

 Texas, but cultivated in houses in the North. 

 [Please do.— Ed. G. M.] 



THE AMARYLLIS. 



BY W\, NORFOLK, VA. 



Noticing your correspondent's communication 

 upon "The Amaryllis," page 132 of your May 

 number, I wish to call your attention to the en- 

 closed photograph of a magnificent specimen of 

 that much mixed-up family, now in the posses- 

 sion of Mr. Daniel Barker, of this city, tlu-ough 

 the generosity of the former owner. It was 

 called by the person who introduced it here, 

 " The Cape Horn Lily,'''' evidently a misnomer. 

 This bulb is four years old, and is an offset from 

 a bulb, also an offset from the original plant 

 now in New York State, said to fill a half-hogs- 

 head, surrounded by its many offsets and young 

 bulbs, and a grand sight it must be, with from 

 fifty to a hundi-ed lovely flowers open at one 

 time. 



By comparison with A. Cleopatra of dwarf and 

 compact habit, in bloom on the left, the relative 

 proportions of this plant can be seen from the 

 photograph, but for the sake of accuracy, I will 

 say the bulb is fifteen inches in circumference. 

 Leaves when fully grown three or four feet in 

 length ; flower-stalks tlu-ee and one-quarter feet in 



