CAPE BULBS VARIETIES AND CULTURE. 159 



ing. They are interesting and attractive plants, the co*- 

 ors being principally white, yellow, or orange, occasionally 

 marked with brownish-black spots in the centre of the 

 flower. 



LACHENALIAS. 



Lachenalia tricolor (yellow, red and green), L. pendula 

 (yellow and red), L. quadricolor (yellow, red, purple, 

 and green), with many other species of similar color, are 

 pretty little bulbs, with flower stems rarely exceeding nine 

 inches in height. They are to be potted in October or 

 November, and kept in green-house temperature, and they 

 will bloom from January to March. 



OTTAT.TS. 



A varied and extensive genus, embracing annuals, bulbous 

 and tuberous rooted plants, and even shrubs. The best 

 known and most beautiful of the genus is 0. versicolor. 

 The flowers of this variety are beautiful in the extreme, 

 combining white, yellow, rose and crimson. The bulbs, 

 which are quite small, should be planted an inch apart, in 

 pots six or seven inches in diameter, in September or Octo- 

 ber, in the soil previously named for all bulbs of this de- 

 scription. As soon as the bulbs have well started to grow, 

 they should be freely watered, and in ordinary green-house 

 temperature will flower profusely from December to April. 

 0. canescens (purple), 0. cuneifolia (white), O. flava 

 (yellow), and 0. multiflora (lilac), require similar treat- 

 ment. The summer flowering or bedding varieties, of 

 which there is a large number, should be kept dry in win- 

 ter and planted out in May, and they will bloom in profu- 

 sion during the summer and fall months ; of this class we 

 name 0. Bowiei (crimson), 0. carnosa (yellow), 0. 

 crispa (white), O. floribunda, (rose), 0. gldbra (purple), 

 and 0. hirta (lilac). 



BABIANA. 



A genus somewhat resembling the Ixias in the form of 



