516 General Notices. 



and the formation of small bulbs at the axils of the leaves covered with soil, 

 A certain means of increase will thus be provided, and the stem roots, upon 

 wliich the plants in their advanced state mainly depend for support, will be 

 encouraged. The proper size of pot will depend upon the number and 

 strength of the bulbs ; three full grown healthy bulbs will require 15-inch 

 pots, and one strong bulb, for its healthy development, will want a 12-inch 

 pot. Water cautiously after shifting till the roots have laid hold of the 

 fresh soil, but when the pots are moderately filled with fibres a liberal sup- 

 ply will be required, and manure- water may be given twice or thrice a week 

 with advantage. All the plants except those desired to bloom early may be 

 placed in a warm sheltered situation out of doors towards the end of May, 

 .and these should be carefully tied to stakes, to prevent any accident from 

 wind or other causes. While in flower a situation slightly shaded from the 

 forenoon sun, with an airy rather dry atmosphere, should be provided, as the 

 flowers are very liable to become discolored if exposed to rain or damp, and 

 soon fade. When the beauty of the plants is over remove them to a rather 

 warm dry situation, and give very little more water to the soil. A place 

 against a south wall, where they will be exposed to the sun and protected 

 from rain, will answer for plants ripening early, but those that flower late 

 had better be kept under glass, as it will hardly be possible to get the bulbs 

 properly matured otherwise, and unless this is effected they»will neither 

 grow nor flower in full vigor next season. Before storing them for the 

 winter, it will be advisable to shake the soil from the bulbs and re-pot them 

 in smaller pots, but defer this until the roots are mostly decayed. The 

 small offsets may be potted half-a-dozen together in 5-inch pots, as, if left 

 in the specimen pots, they are liable to be overgrown and injured by their 

 stronger neighbors. Turfy sandy loam and peat in about equal proportions, 

 with a liberal sprinkling of sharp sand, will suit perfectly, although it is 

 asserted by some growers that the flowers are higher colored when the 

 plants are grown in peat alone. — [Gard. C/iron., 1852, p. 551.) 



Evil Effects of over-crowding Plants, during Winter. — Among^ 

 the more formidable difficulties which a gardener has to contend against, and 

 which he is moreover expected to surmount, is that of accommodating, in 

 winter especially, a large number of plants in a limited amount of space. 

 To this perplexity not only those who conduct minor establishments are 

 subjected, but the evil is equally apparent in the majority of gardens 

 throughout the country. Now, although it is well known that if plants 

 have been thoroughly prepared during the summer season, they possess 

 wonderful powers of endurance when submitted to the storing process in 

 tlie winter — and it is often amusing to Avitness the various expedients 

 adopted to economise the space in structures devoted to their reception — it 

 is equally certain that the indiscriminate crowding of plants we so often 

 meet with is at once a source of annoyance and disappointment, both to the 

 gardener and his employer. 



We have often been surprised at witnessing at the various exhibitions 

 such fine examples of plant growing, produced, as we know, under many 

 and weighty disadvantages, not the least of which is the want of a proper 



