THE CANADIAN HORTICULURIST. 



duction of amaryllis to European gar- 

 dens gives the date as being early in 

 the eighteenth century, about 17 12, it 

 being indigenous to the Cape of Good 

 Hope, South Africa, where so many 

 varieties of these beautiful plants have 

 been introduced. These were herba- 

 ceous in their character, the foliage 

 commencing to die down soon after the 

 flowering season, followed by a period 

 of rest, about which more will be said 

 in the few remarks, I shall make on the 

 culture of this easily grown, showy and 

 attractive class of plants. 



To secure the best results get some 

 good sized bulbs, which we suppose 

 are dormant, plant the bulbs in good 

 rich loamy potting soil and not of too 

 sandy nature ; in well-drained pots, size 

 of pot to be regulated by size of bulb. 

 For a good average flowering bulb, a 

 seven inch pot will be required. Plant 

 so that a small portion of the bulb shows 

 above the soil ; water thoroughly once, 

 and if the soil settles from watering fill 

 up with soil again ; water only when 

 appearing dry at this stage, and water 

 very seldom until root action has well 

 started, when the plant will need more 

 water ; when in full growth it requires 

 and will bear a great deal of water, 

 especially if the drainage is perfect. 

 The first intimation of top growih in 

 most of the herbaceous varieties will be 

 the appearance of the flower spike; about 

 the same time the foliage will be seen 

 starting into growth ; the growth of both 

 flower spike and foliage being very rapid, 

 water, and possibly liquid manure, of a 

 mild nature, may be given pretty freely 

 now until the leaves show symptoms of 

 decay, then water must be gradually 

 withheld until the foliage has decayed 

 almost entirely, when the pot, with the 

 bulb in it, can be placed in a compara- 

 tively dry and warm position, say in a 

 temperature of 40° or 45°. The" bulbs 



can remain there until the following 

 season, when they can be brought out 

 and repotted if necessary ; but if, as 

 often happens, the bulb has commenced 

 root action, do not repot it, but stir out 

 some of the old soil from the top of the 

 pot, and top dress, which in gardeners 

 phraseology means filling up with a good 

 rich compost of potting soil. This is pre- 

 ferable to repotting if growth has com- 

 menced, when the same treatment can 

 be given as before recommended. One 

 objectionable feature of the herbaceous 

 class, from my point of view, is the 

 appearance of the flower before the foli- 

 age has fully developed, which seems to 

 me to detract from its beauty and 

 value. 



The evergreen varieties, which are 

 generally classed under the name of 

 Hippeastrums, have by constant hybrid- 

 ization with other Amaryllids become 

 so blended and mixed that it is almust 

 impossible to distinguish them except 

 as evergreen varieties. The first known 

 variety of this class was introduced from 

 this Continent of North America in the 

 17th century, about the year 1658, some 

 years before its near relative the Amaryl- 

 lis was known to European floriculture. 

 Many others were brought at more 

 recent dates, chiefly from South America, 

 the West Indies, and Africa, and are, as 

 far as form and color of the flowers are 

 concerned, very similar to the deciduous 

 or herbaceous varieties. At the present 

 time, there is an almost endless variety 

 of both these classes of beautiful plants, 

 secured largely by hybridization, al- 

 though some having quite distinctive 

 features are still introduced by plant 

 collectors and travelers in newly opened 

 up countries. 



The evergreen varieties, like the her 

 baceous kinds, require their period of 

 rest, but not of such a decided character, 

 as only partial rest is required by the 

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