NERINE. 21 
NERINE. 
The Guernsey Lily. 
This is an interesting genus of greenhouse bulbs, but 
not useful in a commercial sense. They are but little 
grown, notwithstanding their remarkable beauty, because 
of the impression that they are difficult subjects to man- 
age. This difficulty would be readily overcome if the 
flowers had a market value. The Nerine, to flower well, 
must be grown in considerable heat in autumn, and 
have as light and airy a situation as the greenhouse 
affords, and must, at all times, have a liberal supply of 
water. The plants must be treated in this way until 
nearly spring, gradually withholding water until May, 
when complete rest should be given them. They will 
come into flower about the first of September, previous 
to which time watering should again commence. This 
method applies particularly to WV. sarniensis, the more 
important of the species. 
N. sarniensis,—This species is a native of the 
Cape of Good Hope, but has become naturalized on the 
Island of Guernsey, and is grown in immense quantities 
for the English market. There is no bulb more easily 
managed than this, when first imported. If we could 
get bulbs direct, as soon as ripe, say about the first of 
August, and pot them, they would immediately come 
into flower, with scarcely a failure, but we cannot grow 
them later, excepting in the manner stated. It would 
be much the cheaper way to buy bulbs, annually, from 
Guernsey, if they could be had in time. There is but 
little difference in the shape of the flowers, which are 
peculiar to themselves, in the species; the colors range 
from clear pink to brilliant scarlet. 
