CAPE BULBS. 29 



CAPE BULBS. 



Although the number of half-hardy Irids of this class, capable of successful 

 cultivation in the open border, is very considerable, they are, with the exception of 

 the Ixias and a few others, so rarely seen in gardens of only moderate size, that it 

 is difficult to resist the conviction, that to a large class of amateurs, the treasures 

 of this beautiful tribe ai-e comparatively unknown. 



As the season for planting most of them is arrived, a few hints on the best species 

 and their treatment, may prove useful. 



They are usually grown in beds ; and this arrangement affords great facilities for 

 protecting them in severe weather, the majority being too tender to endure full 

 exposure during frost. There is little or no danger, however, to be apprehended 

 when the bulbs are not planted till February or March ; and in that case, the 

 question of beds or clumps may be left to the taste and convenience of the amateur. 



The question of soil is more important ; it may, indeed, be termed the chief point 

 on which their successful cultivation hinges. They will not do well in poor, sandy 

 soils, which afford them too little nourishment, and stunt their growth ; neither 

 will they succeed in the strong, tenacious loams so peculiar to many districts ; and 

 even peat, in which they are so often grown, is less desirable than a compost in 

 which it forms but one ingredient. By far the best results are obtained in a 

 mixture of white sand, good fibrous loam, and turfy peat, in about equal proportions. 

 In such a compost, the whole of the Cape Irids will flourish, whether in the open 

 borders, or in pot. The ingredients should be well chopped together, and mingled 

 with the hands, but not sifted, as this would remove the fibrous portions, the 

 presence of which is essential to the porosity of the whole. When the peat and 

 white sand cannot be procured, a mixture of decayed leaf-mould and sandy loam 

 may be used as a substitute ; but leaf-mould is so generally infested with insects, 

 that it cannot be recommended for this purpose. Any Nurseryman will supply a 

 small quantity of all three ingredients for a trifling sum. 



When the bulbs are grown in clumps in the mixt border, the soil should be 

 removed to a depth of from 12 to 16 inches. At the bottom of the cavity thus 

 formed, three or four inches of broken sherds must be placed, as drainage, and the 

 remaining space may then be filled with the compost of peat, loam, and sand. The 

 largest bulbs should be planted from four to six inches, and the smaller ones about 

 three inches deep. Single bulbs, especially of the smaller species produce so little 

 effect, that they should always be planted in patches, of at least three bulbs of each 

 kind. In severe weather, and also during very heavy rains, it will be advisable 

 to cover each patch over, even before the leaves appear, with an empty pot. 



