BELL GLASS. 



5~ 



BELLADONNA LILY. 



hybridise with great facility. The following 

 are a few choice sorts selected from more 

 than 350 species known to botanists : 



B. amabilis, the bright banded leaves very 



glossy and shining. 

 B. argentea, the upper surface of the leaf of a 



pure delicate white. 

 B. fuchsioides, remarkable for its graceful 



habit. 

 B. Griffithii, richly variegated, with colours 



shading beautifully into each other. 

 B. manicata, produces a large mass of flowers 



at one time in the early spring. 

 B. nitida, an almost perpetual bloomer, one 



plant having had three or four cymes of flowers 



always open for three years. 



B. octopetala, a tuberous-rooted winter flower- 

 ing species, with large pure white blossoms. 

 B. odorata, remarkable for the fragrant odour, 



from which it derives its name. 

 B. rex, a beautiful species, with rose-coloured 



flowers, and foliage variegated, with dark green 



edges and centre, and silvery belt between, from 



which many good varieties with variegated leaves 



have been produced. 

 B. splendida, grown for its crimson velvety 



young leaves, which lose their beauty, however, 



as the plant approaches maturity. 

 B. splendida argentea, equally beautiful; a 



pink tinge shining through the silvery hue of the 



leaves. 

 B. xanthina, in which green bands follow the 



principal veins, the spaces between being pure 



white. 

 B. xanthina Lazuli, having copper -coloured 



leaves, shining with a fine metallic lustre. 

 B. xanthina pictifolia, the copper-coloured 



leaves relieved with large distinct white 



blotches. 



Many other begonias, both distinct 

 species and hybrid varieties, are in culti- 

 vation, nearly approaching these in beauty ; 

 but few, if any, will be found to exceed 

 them. For named hybrid varieties, which 

 are very numerous, the reader is referred 

 to the price lists of the principal florists 

 and growers, and especially Messrs. James 

 Veitch and Son, Royal Exotic Nursery, 

 544, King's Road, Chelsea. 



Bell Glass or Cloche. 



This appliance is much used by French 

 gardeners for the protection and culture of 

 lettuces and small vegetables of this cha- 

 racter during the winter and early spring. 

 Its form is shown in the accompanying 

 illustration. It is usually made of a 

 greenish kind of glass, and may be had in 



various sizes, large enough, in fact, to 

 cover a cauliflower. Bell glasses, or hand 

 glasses, are made in different shapes, some 

 being of the form shown in the illustration, 

 some cylindrical, some tall and narrow, 

 and others broad and shallow ; but what- 

 ever may be their form the purpose to 

 which they are put, namely, that of 

 covering and protecting tender vegetables, 

 seedlings, etc., cuttings, and patches of 

 seed that have not yet germinated, is in 

 all cases the same. They may be obtained 



BELL GLA&S OR CLOCHE. 



of Messrs. James Carter and Co., 237, 

 High Holborn, W.C., or of Messrs. Breffit 

 and Co., 83, Upper Thames Street, E.C., 

 by whom they are manufactured. Useful 

 sizes may be bought at led. and is. each. 

 It must be remembered that no means of 

 ventilation are provided in bell glasses, 

 and that as growing plants require air the 

 bell glass should be tilted when the weather 

 admits, and supported on a stone or notched 

 stick. 



Belladon'na Lily (nat. ord. Amaryi- 

 lida'cese). 



This is an amaryllis ; the flower, in some 

 cases, is pale pink, and in others almost 

 white, flushed with rose-purple, very hand- 

 some. The bulbs should be planted in 

 June or July in good fibrous mould mixed 

 with fine sand and leaf mould at a depth of 

 about eight inches below the surface, and 

 when once planted the bulbs should be left 

 undisturbed. The flower stems are always 



