9G 



JOUENAIi OF HOETICULTITEE AND COTTAGE G.AEDENER. 



[ Febraary 1, 1872. 



have given rise, are happily more frequently to be met with in oiu' 

 plant stoves, and upon oui' exhibition tables, but, certamly, 

 much less frequently than they deserve to be. I think, there- 

 fore, it is quite time the subject should be agitated through the 

 pages of the Journal, in order to arouse the latent fire of those 

 who were once admirers of these plants, but who may have 

 been seduced from then' old love by more popular modern 

 beauties, also to endeavour to enlist young rising amateurs in 

 the ranks of the Hippeastrum-growers. 



If any of my readers think it an innovation on my part, or 

 refuse to relinquish the name Amaryllis from what I have said, 

 I no more wish to ask them to do so than I have means to en- 

 force it; but I do saj'. Grow these plants extensively, call them 

 whatever you please, but cultivate them largely, and hybridise 

 them also, so that some of your feUow labourers may be glad- 

 dened with the sight of new forms. 



Those amateurs who deUght in grand showy flowers should 

 lose no time in adding some of these plants to their collections, 

 for they are most accommodatmg in their nature, and are very 

 easily managed. They are equally suitable for growing and 

 flowering in the stove, greenhouse, or fernery; but those who 

 have the advantage of a stove temperature and a moderate 

 quantity of bulbs may, with a httle management in arranging 

 the succession, enjoy the beauties of these gorgeous flowers 

 every month, if not every week, in the year, thus giving a 

 more brilliant return for the little attention bestowed than 

 some plants do for a whole season's unremitting care. I do 

 not wish, be it irnderstood, to advocate the culture of those 

 plants only which require little attention ; for if I know any- 

 thing of the genuine love of plants after twenty-six years' 

 courtship, I must say I have yearned for the health of, and 

 fondled most, the very plants that I have found most difBcult 

 to manage. With amateurs, however, in many instances, 

 the case must be very different ; for if it be only possible to 

 devote to then- plants a certain amount of time daily, then 

 it behoves them, if success is looked for, to cultivate those 

 plants only which can accommodate themselves to the limited 

 time at their disiiosal. 



These plants, I am sorry to say, are treated in what appears 

 to me a very irrational manner, for in a state of nature the 

 bulbs gi'ow below the surface of the soO, but under cultivation 

 they are placed upon the top, or at most only partially covered, 

 but the reason for such a change I never heard satisfactorily ex- 

 plained. That they wiU grow with us and flourish when treated 

 in a natural manner is an undeniable fact, and certainly they 

 then present a more elegant appearance than they otherwise 

 do. Again, when the growing season is past, the usual prac- 

 tice is to tmTi tlie pots upon their sides, and completely dry 

 up the roots ; nay, some even go to a greater extreme and 

 turn the bulbs out of the pots, placing them upon dry shelves. 

 This I cannot help thinking most unnatural treatment, and 

 one of the reasons why we do not see much improvement from 

 year to year in these plants. Friends of mine, who have col- 

 lected them, have assured me that in the drj' season they have 

 dug out the bulbs with their roots deep down amongst the moist 

 soil, and quite active. That under similar treatment Ama- 

 ryllids thrive with us I may cite my old favourite A. Belladonna, 

 which, when planted in the open groimd, especially under a 

 wall, grows and flowers most luxuriantly, each year only serving 

 to increase its vigour and the number of its flower-scapes ; yet 

 plants exactly similar, but not rejoicing in such a hardy con- 

 stitution, have the majority of their roots dried up every sea- 

 son, and, consequently, are prevented from displaying them- 

 selves in their best aspect. 



The method I adopt in the cultivation of these bulbs, and 

 which has led to very successful results, is to pot them below the 

 surface of the soil, usiug for this purpose a compost consisting 

 of two parts good turfy loam, one part leaf mould, and one part 

 thoroughly decomposed manure, adding to the whole sufiicient 

 sand to make it feel gritty when taken in the hand. The most 

 suitable time for repotting I consider to be immediately after the 

 flowers fade. During the growing season they enjoy a Uberal 

 supply of both heat and moisture, and therefore the drainage 

 must be perfect. Growth completed, and the leaves showing 

 signs of de^ay, water should be gradually withheld; and when 

 the plants have become dry, inure them by degrees to a lower 

 temperature, untU ultimately they may be placed in a cold pit. 

 AVhile there no water should be given, but a little water may 

 occasionally be poured into the pit between the pots, by which 

 means I have generally preserved most of the roots, so that 

 when the plants begin to push up their flowers there are active 

 mouths all ready to supply nutriment to the awakened plant. 



In drawing my remarks to a close, I wiU add a few names of 

 Idnds I have grown, with the colours of their flowers, to assist 

 some of my readers in making a selection. At the same time 

 it must be understood there exist an immense number of 

 hybrid forms, although they are somewhat difficult to procure. 

 This drawback to then- culture is, however, fast fading away, 

 as several of our leading London nurserymen are devoting 

 their energies both to the introduction of species and of good 

 hybrid kinds. 



ia Beaute. — A beautiful white flower, the segments striped 

 with crimson. 



Gravianum. — Groimd colour orange red, base of flowers light, 

 segments striped with wliite. 



Sir John Franklin. — Greenish yellow, with deep drimson 

 edges. 



International. — Segments very long; flowers light, striped 

 with rosy pink. 



Lion des Combats. — Ground colour white, segments flaked 

 and striped with crimson. A superb flower. 



Pardinum. — This is a very beautiful species from Pern. 

 Flowers large, gi-ound colour creamy yellow, (lotted with reddish 

 crimson. 



Beaute sans Pareille. — Ground colour dark crimson, base 

 greenish yellow, segments striped with white. 



Princess Alexandra. — A superb, large, crimson flower, base 

 gi'een, segments striped with reddish pm-ple. 



Ackcmiannii pulcherrimum. — Ground colour rich deep crim- 

 son, beautifully veined witli green. 



Alberta flore-pleno. — Flowers bright orange, double. Intro- 

 duced by an intimate friend of mine from Cuba. 



William Pitt. — A superb variety, of good form ; white, seg- 

 ments striped with rich vermilion. 



Aurora. — ^Bright orange, segments striped with white. Very 

 handsome. 



Cleopatra. — A superb flower, large, and of good form ; orange 

 scarlet, streaked with crimson. 



Calyptratum. — Flowers orange red, with light base. 



Eldorado. — A fine, large, white flower, the segments striped 

 with cerise, and shaded with purple. 



Pijrrochroum. — A newly introduced species from Brazil. 

 Flowers very fine, reddish scarlet in colour, base greenish 

 yellow. 



Striatum superbum. — Ground colour deep red, segments 

 streaked with white and green. 



Beaute sans Rival. — A superb large flower, ground colour rich 

 orange, streaked and mottled with white. 

 — EspERTO Ceede. 



GEAFTING. 



Is the course of a few weeks the time will have arrived for 

 grafting operations to be commenced. With us in this coimtry 

 the forms of the process of grafting are few and simple. We 

 have first the ordinary whiiJ-grafting, cleft-grafting, inarch- 

 ing, and budding. These are what are generally practised 

 among us, with here and there a fanciful form introduced by 

 some ingenious operator. The French are more elaborate and 

 diffusive in this operation than we are. Whole treatises have 

 been WTitten on the subject, forming good-sized volumes, and 

 among these the most recent are those by Abbe Dupuy and 

 M. Charles Baltet. We had occasion not long ago to notice 

 this work of M. Baltet, which is at once concise, full, and 

 practical. In it we have every conceivable variety of the 

 graft fuUy explained, and as M. Baltet had the kindness to 

 furnish us with Ulustratious of the most important forms of 

 grafting, we have much pleasure in lajing them before our 

 readers, with the descriptions taken from the original work. 



Inaechixg {GrrJI'age par approche) is the oldest of all. 

 From time immemorial Nature has furnished examples of it 

 m the forests and hedges, where it is met with in trees united 

 by their roots or branches through being long in close contact 

 and by continued friction. Inarching consists, then, in unit- 

 ing two trees by their stems or their branches. In some cases 

 it is a branch of a tree that will be grafted on to the tree itself. 

 The time of inarching begins with the movement of the sap 

 and finishes with it — from March to September. The stock 

 and the graft may be either in the woody or herbaceous state ; 

 in whatever condition, the operation is the same. In inarch- 

 ing it is not necessary to remove the leaves from the graft, as 

 in other systems, because the graft remains in conjunction 

 with the parent tree when it is joined to the stock. A sUce of 

 the wood and bark is made on the stock and on the graft, the 

 same in both, so that the two parts will fit and unite intimately. 

 To facUitate the union a ligature and grafting-wax are appUed ; 

 a stake is added if two distinct trees are to be dealt with. 



