FERRARIA. 51 



Then very carefully lift the roots from the ground. This is 

 best done by two persons, with spades, operating on each side 

 of the roots, as when taken from the ground they are very brittle 

 and easily broken off. Let them be carefully deposited on the 

 surface, where they should remain during the day exposed to 

 the sun and air. Before night sets in, they should be removed 

 to a dry, airy cellar, and deposited on shelves raised a few feet 

 from the cellar bottom ; here they will remain with perfect 

 safety, provided they can have a little air occasionally in 

 pleasant weather. They should, however, be placed singly on 

 the shelves ; as, when they are packed close, or one upon 

 another, they are liable to mould and decay. The most danger 

 to be apprehended is from excessive dampness ; but sometimes 

 roots kept in a cellar where there is a furnace, may be 

 injured by excessive dryness, and the roots become shrivelled 

 and dried. There is no danger from rats or mice or any other 

 creature. I never knew an animal to touch them. You could 

 not catch an old rat even to smell of them the second time. 



FERRARIA. 



Tiger Flower. 



The Mexican Tiger Flower, or Ferraria pavonia, and F. 

 conchiflora, are flowers of exquisite beauty. The bulbs are 

 tunicated, producing from one to four stems each, from eigh- 

 teen inches to two feet high ; the flowers are of short duration. 

 It is born to display its glory but for a few hours, when the 

 sun totally destroys all vestiges of its beauty ; but, to compen- 

 sate for this sudden decline, it continues to produce its flowers 

 a number of weeks. The shape of the flower is singularly 

 curious, and the coloring of each variety gorgeous. The 

 flowers of the first-named variety are of the richest scarlet 

 imaginable, variegated with a bright golden yellow. The 

 ground-work of F. conchiflora is of the richest orange, varie- 



