114 OXALIS ELEGAXS. 



unfrcquently even longer than those of the 0. elegans, it is obvious that, elevated 

 as they are above the stamens, the process of fecundation could with difficulty take 

 place, but for the temporary change in their position to which we have referred. 



Notwithstanding this curious adaptation, the Oxalises, like many other plants 

 removed from their natural habitats, do not generally ripen seed ; at least, none of 

 those we have seen under cultivation, except the little 0. rosea. Most of them 

 produce, however, a large crop of bulbs, by which they may be readily increased. 



In speaking of the 0. cemua, we observed that the new bulbs in that species 

 were formed in a cluster at the extremity of a long fibre, proceeding from the 

 base of the old surface bulb. In the species now under consideration, this fibre 

 is very much shorter, the new bulbs being found in the immediate neighbourhood 

 of the parent root. 



In the 0. Bowiei, a very handsom^ late-flowering species, with crimson blossoms, 

 the bulbs are produced at intervals along the radical fibres, in clusters of three 

 or four ; and between the fibre and the base of the young bulbs, there will often 

 be found intervening a whitish, transparent, fleshy body, occasionally as thick 

 as the little finger. The precise nature of this curious appendage is not very 

 clear; nor do we find any notice of it in any modern Botanical writer, but it 

 is, probably, a variety of the undergrown stem or stipe. 



From what has been said of the roots of these pretty plants, one important 

 practical conclusion may be drawn, viz. that the new tubers require to be dug 

 Tip after flowering, as they are produced at such a distance from the surface, that, 

 unless this precaution is adopted, they will eventually be lost. In the case of 

 0. Bowiei and other autumn-flowering nearly hardy species, it is advisable to 

 defer the removal of the tubers until spring, as in severe winters they would be 

 safer at a depth of some inches ; and from the late period at which the blossoms 

 are produced, the young tubers would suffer from being disturbed in their 

 immature state. As they do not commence their growth until the following 

 summer, the month of April will be sufficiently early to replant them. 



The bulbs of the Oxalis elegans do not penetrate the soil so deeply as some of 

 the other species ; but they should, notwithstanding, be replanted every autumn, 

 after the decay of the leaves. The soil best suited to this and most of the 

 Oxalises, is a light, sandy loam, with an admixture of peat or leaf-mould. A 

 dry sunny situation should be chosen, for the blossoms expand only under sunshine. 



The 0. elegans is a very free flowerer, even the small bulbs will generally produce 

 several umbels. The trusses will need the support of a small rod, to prevent 

 them from being dashed to the ground by heavy rains ; and for this purpose, 

 nothing is better than the top of a slender, unpeeled osier. These supports are 

 commonly employed by professional florists, but they are not so generally in use 

 among amateurs as they deserve to be. Their pale bark renders them very incon- 





