BRIEF REMARKS. 177 



ing kinds to cross with those which otherwise would have passed away 

 before these were in flower. With me, the plants always seed best in 

 the open ground. When the seed vessels begin to swell, the flower 

 stems should be carefully tied up and watched until the seeds turn 

 black. I do not wait until the seed-vessel bursts, as many seeds in 

 that case fall to the ground and are lost, but take them off when mature 

 Avitli a portion of the stem, which I insert in the earth in a seed-pot or 

 pan provided for their reception. I place them in a north aspect, and 

 the seeds in due season are shed as it were naturally into the pot 

 of earth. I allow the seeds to harden for a month on ihe surface 

 before covering them with half an inch depth of sandy soil. The soil 

 should be two-thirds pure loam, and one-third sharp sand ; the drainage 

 composed of rough and turfy soil. In October, 1 plunge the seed- 

 pots in a cold frame facing the south, and the young plants begin to 

 appear in December and throughout the winter according to their kinds 

 and the mildness of the weather. It is needful, in their earliest stages, 

 to look well after slugs and snails. 



" The seedlings should be protected from frosts, but should have 

 abundance of air, or they will soon draw. As soon as they will stand 

 exposure, plunge the pots under some sheltered wall or hedge, and they 

 will form their first bulbs. Let them become dry in summer, and, if 

 it be a wet season, turn the pots on their sides until the time for them 

 to grow again. Let them remain in the seed-pots, and topdress them 

 with fresh loamy soil. When the bulbs are two years old, prepare, in 

 an open airy situation, a bed of good loam mixed with sharp sand ; 

 prepare the bed as for Tulips, &c, covering the entire surface with 

 sand, in which the bulbs should be embedded; plant the roots in rows 

 three inches apart, and each root one inch apart in the row. They will 

 stand three years in this bed, when they may be finally removed into a 

 fresh bed of similar soil to flower : a few will flower the fifth year, but 

 the greater portion not until the seventh. I do not take up the flowering 

 roots oftener than every third season, but top-dress the beds every 

 autumn. A little thoroughly-decayed hotbed manure, mixed with the 

 surface soil, aids them to produce fine flowers, but it must be well 

 decomposed or it will do harm. The beds should be well drained, the 

 prepared soil at least two feet deep, and the situation sheltered from 

 north and east winds, which do much damage to the flowers." — Maga- 

 zine of Botany. 



London Floral Institutions. — The Horticultural Society's 

 Garden at Chiswick is annually receiving considerable improvements, 

 both in the houses, grounds, and management of its contents ; and a 

 visit alone will confirm the advance that has been made the last and 

 present year. Facilities, too, for admission to the gardens, and a 

 much less expense is now required for the payment, on being elected 

 a Fellow, and >ubseqnently, too. There are also improved arrange- 

 ments for exhibitors at the general shows, and the fact of their 

 approval by exhibitors has been testified by the productions and 

 commendations of this season's exhibitions. The collective spe- 

 cimen- shown this season have been much in advance of former 

 years, and to this fine display, there is, this season, the magnificent 



Vol. xtx. No. 55. — N.8. Q 



