INTRODUCTION 



have been made in the past because the various altitudes at which 

 plants grow naturally were either unknown or were ignored. Thus 

 it happened that plants from the tops of the Andes of Ecuador, 

 Colombia, or Peru, although within the Tropic of Capricorn and 

 beneath an equatorial sun, were found to die with warm house 

 treatment, while they flourished under a temperate or almost hardy 

 regime. The proper temperature, etc., for a plant in cultivation 

 may be therefore more easily gauged if the gardener possesses 

 accurate information as to the condition in which it grows in a 

 state of nature. Owing to these variations of altitude and 

 temperature, it has become necessary to divide bulbous plants 

 into four main groups, namely: hardy, half-hardy, greenhouse, and 

 hothouse or stove. In the following pages under each genus such 

 particulars as to the native habitat of each species are given as 

 will enable the gardener to arrive at a decision as to the 

 temperature most likely to suit his plants. 



While temperature of course plays an important part in plant 

 cultivation, the questions of soils, moisture, drought, etc., have 

 also to be considered. Here again a knowledge of the local natural 

 surroundings will give one a fairly good idea as to what compost 

 should be used, and whether much or little water is to be given. A 

 plant that grows naturally in a peaty or marshy soil would be likely 

 to flourish in a similar compost, but would in all probability die 

 in a very short time if planted in heavy clay or coarse sand, 

 although it might do fairly well in a moist loamy soil. On the 

 other hand, plants from desert regions where sandy wastes abound 

 will probably require a hot, dryish atmosphere, although they may 

 enjoy moisture at the root during the period of active growth. 

 Others again from the lower elevations of tropical regions can 

 scarcely be given too much heat and moisture in conjunction with 

 a rich and unctuous soil. To enable the gardener to judge which 

 set of conditions is most likely to suit any particular group of 

 bulbous or tuberous plants, this volume has been specially written, 

 and the author hopes that it may prove itself worthy of frequent 

 reference on the part of the intelligent cultivators in all parts of 

 the British Islands. 



A glance at the page of Contents will give the reader a kind of 

 bird's-eye view of the scope of the work. In the descriptive portion 

 the various genera and species have been dealt witli in alphabetical 

 order, as it is probably the most generally convenient. Those plant- 

 lovers, however, of a studious or analytical turn of mind, will find 



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