202 EXTRACT. 



" ' The seed should be collected as soon as ripe, sown in pots, and placed 

 in a hotted. When the young plants have produced two leaves, they should 

 be potted singly into the smallest-sized pots, taking care not to pot them too 

 deep, but to leave the young bulbs on a level with the surface of the mould. 

 Thev should be watered, and kept shaded in the hotbed frame for a few days, 

 and as soon as the bulbs recede from the surface they should be re-potted 

 into large 60's, and occasionally shifted during the summer, until the plants 

 are well rooted in 24-sized pots. By this treatment many of the young 

 plants will flower the following spring. 



" ' The established plants I treat in the following manner : — As soon as 

 they begin to show flower, I stir the surface of the mould, and give as much 

 water as will penetrate to the bottom of the pots. I then place them in the 

 stove, and water them occasionally as the plants may require. In a few 

 days the flower-stems advance considerably in height, the leaves shortly after 

 make their appearance, and in a few weeks the plants are in flower. 



"' When the flowers begin to fade, the flower-stems should not be cut 

 off, but be allowed to die down, for if cut while in a green state, it will cause 

 the coats of the bulbs to decay. After the leaves have attained their growth, 

 which may be known by their dropping down to the sides of the pots, and 

 by the tips of the leaves beginning to turn yellow, the plants should be re- 

 potted, taking care to disturb the roots as little as possible. They should 

 then be placed in a hotbed frame, and supplied with water sufficient to settle 

 the mould, shading them with a mat till another set of leaves begin to he 

 developed. They will now form embryo buds for the following season. The 

 plants, being established, should be gradually exposed to the sun and air, 

 and as soon as the leaves have attained their full growth, water should be 

 more sparingly applied. When the leaves have died down to the bulbs, the 

 plants should be removed in a cool vinery or green-house, and if the bulbs 

 feel firm, which may easily be known by pressing them with the finger and 

 thumb, the watering may be gradually discontinued, and the plants be suf- 

 fered to remain till they begin to show their flower-buds, when the surface of 

 the mould must be stirred as before directed, and the same treatment pur- 

 sued. 



" ' The A. curvifolia, A. corusca, A. sarniensis, or Guernsey lily, require 

 the same treatment as the other varieties, and will, if properly managed, 

 flower every year. There are several varieties of the Amaryllis that do not 

 root so freely as others; but if these are allowed to remain in the pots, and 

 be carefully watered, and judiciously treated, they will invariably flower in 

 perfection. 



" ' In the management of Amary Hides, and bulbs in general, it is of great 

 importance that they be not over watered, that the offsets be carefully de- 

 tached, and that, in planting, the pots be sufficiently drained. The follow- 

 ing compost may be advantageously employed, both for seedling and esta- 

 blished plants: — three parts light turfy loam, two parts white sharp sand, 

 and one part turfy peat.' " — Mantell's Floriculture. 



