90 THE AMARYLLIS. 



of the more common kinds are more easily procured, and where suitable 

 accommodation can be afforded ; but under ordinary circumstances the 

 chances are very great against the success of the system, and it should 

 only be resorted to by the amateur in tlie case of very rare and curious 

 plants. 



THE AMARYLLIS: 



ITS CULTURE FOR WINTER DECORATION. 

 BY MB. FREDERICK THORNE, FAIRFORD PARK. 



Amongst all plants chosen for decoration during winter, none, in my 

 opinion, are superior to this beautiful tribe, when highly cultivated. 

 Their flowers are mostly ricldy coloured, large, and particularly orna- 

 mental. Tlie possession, too, of half a hundred bulbs will afford cer- 

 tain succession of bloom from the first week in December until April. 



The mode of procedure I ailopt, and which has afforded gratifying 

 and uniform success for many years, is to raise the plants from seed 

 saved from Amaryllis alba striata, A. ylaucescens, and A. Johnsoni. 

 I am careful not to gather the seed until it is perfectly matured, and 

 then it is sown immediately in sliallow pans, in a mixture of fine leaf- 

 mould and sharp sand. Upon the top of eacli pan I place a piece of 

 glass, on which a thin layer of moss is added. Tliis serves to keep the 

 soil continually moist, a point necessary of attention. The pans are 

 then removed into a temperature of about 70^. As soon as the plants 

 have formed little bulbs they are transplanted into fwo-inch pots, re- 

 turning them again into the stove to a situation where they can receive 

 a little bottom heat. Subsequently they are re-potted into the next 

 larger sizes, as their increased growth indicates that operation to be 

 necessary. In this manner the plants are grown until they have at- 

 tained the required size for their final shifting into seven-inch pots, to 

 accouiplish which object I allow them two years. 



At the end of the first season's growth I give the bulbs a rest for 

 three months, retaining tlicm the while in the stove. Returning 

 growth is induced early in tlic montli of February in the following 

 year, and by the end of autumn the bulbs will have become sufficiently 

 matured to produce bloom in the succeeding winter. I force tiiem as 

 required, and for five successive years they grow luxuriantly without 

 being re-potted. I find it merely necessary to give a top-dressing of 

 fresh soil and elevate the bulb a little if requisite. My motive for 

 confining the, roots within seven-inch pots is to permit the plants, 

 when in bloom, being conveniently placed in a basket in the drawing- 

 room, and the roots becoming fully established in these pots, or pot- 

 bound as it is termed, I find the production of flowers greatly aug- 

 mented. Of course, when fine specimens of growth is tiie object in 

 view, larger pots must be had recourse to. 



By long experience I find the following compost most suitable to 

 Amaryllids, \ iz., two parts of strong loam, one part of rotten leaf- 

 mould, and another part of sharp sand ; to these I add a small portion 

 of charcoal and a few pieces of broken pot, about the size of marbles. 



When the plants are in bloom they may, if desired, be removed from 



