164 



CAPE BULBS. 



if confusion in potting would be avoided. These plants, in 

 England, are often grown in frames, or in the open border. 

 In our climate, the green-house is their proper place, as 

 they are killed by the least frost. By the latter part of 

 January the flower stalks will begin to appear ; as they are 

 very slender, they should be secured to neat stakes. Soon 

 after blooming, the leaves begin to turn yellow, and the 



plants indicate a desire to rest. Unless it is desirable to 







ripen seed, the plants should be allowed to dry off grad- 

 ually, and the pots then placed on a dry place, secure from 

 mice, until the next autumn. Seedlings may be easily 

 raised. Sow the seeds thinly, about the first of October, in 

 the same soil used for the bulbs ; allow the seedlings to 

 remain in the pan one year ; then transplant and treat as 

 old bulbs ; they will bloom the third year, if well cared for. 

 The most usual mode of propagation is by offsets, which 

 are freely produced ; the old bulb dies each year, giving 

 birth to new bulbs and a host of offsets ; separate these 

 before potting, and they will soon make flowering plants. 

 Most of the varieties do well in the parlor window, and we 

 can recommend them as both pretty and showy, though we 

 believe none are fragrant. We have only space to describe 

 a few out of some thirty varieties. 



