6i 



During this time every effort is made to build up good flowering- 

 sized bulbs for the following season and with this end in view feed- 

 ing at frequent intervals with dilute fertilizers is necessary. The 

 completion of the growing season is indicated by the maturing of 

 the foliage. When this stage is reached feeding should cease and 

 the moisture supply be gradually reduced, until the leaves have died 

 down completely. Then water is withheld altogether and the soil 

 in which the bulbs have grown is kept quite dry until the season for 

 repotting arrives again. It is important that this drying-off process 

 be done very gradually, as a sudden cessation of watering will seri- 

 ously interfere with the quality of flowers produced the following 

 season. 



Important genera of Cape bulbs include, in addition to those 

 already mentioned, Sparaxis, Ixia, Watsonia, Albuca, Antholyza, 

 Freesia, Oxalis, Cyrtanthus, Vallota, Nerine, Babiana, Tulbaghia, 

 Bulbine, Anoiganthus, Homeria, and Streptanthera. 



The cultivation of South African annuals will be treated in a 

 forthcoming number of the Journal. 



T. H. Everett. 



THE LEMON DAYLILY (HEMEROCALLIS FLAVA L.) : 

 ITS ORIGIN AND STATUS 



When, where, and how T the familiar Lemon Daylily (Hemero- 

 callis flava) came into culture are matters of horticultural interest. 

 What its nearest wild relatives are and where they now grow are 

 especially matters of botanical interest. It is the purpose of this 

 article to summarize and to evaluate the evidence on these ques- 

 tions, with special reference to the origin and development of this 

 plant. 



The Lemon Daylily is one of the oldest of plants cultivated in 

 flower gardens, for it was already in cultivation in Europe when 

 the first books were written about such plants. It was fairly well 

 described in a volume (Pena and Lobel, Stirpium Adversaria Nova, 

 1570) under the name Asphodelus luteus liUflorus. It is stated 

 that it was then familiar as a cultivated plant in gardens in France 

 and Holland but not in Italy, that it was listed by the "Pharma- 

 copoei Veneti," and that its medicinal product had been seen in 

 shops, especially in Antwerp. 



