90 THE amateue's geeenhotjse 



6-inch pot in a mixture of maiden loam, bog earth, and leaf 

 soil, with plenty of sand. Put the bulbs in the soil so that 

 they wiU be covered only one inch in depth. Put them in a 

 frame, and do not cover them with earth or sawdust, but fill 

 in between the pots quite to the rim. Not much water must 

 be given till the cold weather is past. When the frost is 

 severe, mats and straw must be put over the frames. When 

 the spring has arrived, place them on shelves near the glass in 

 airy houses. They now require plenty of air, plenty of light, 

 and plenty of water. When they have expanded all their 

 flowers, put them in a bed out of doors, and put into each pot 

 a little fresh soil on the top. This is beneficial, for when the 

 flowers wither the plants begin to make new bulbs, and the 

 fresh soil will cause the new bulbs to be large and good. As 

 the old bulbs die, it is worth obtaining good ones for the next 

 season. When the leaves begin to die, give them no more 

 water, but put them in a dry frame in the sun, and put the 

 glass on, or lay them on their sides in a hot sunny greenhouse, 

 so that the new bulbs in the pots will be made quite hot for 

 fourteen days or more. Then you may take them all out and 

 pot them for the next season, and you will find large hard 

 bulbs which will bloom the next year better than the first. 



Lachenalia. — These pretty bulbous plants thrive best in a 

 strong yellow loam, but they will flower fairly in any kind of soil. 

 Pot them from June to November to produce a succession of 

 flowers, and when growing freely give plenty of water. When 

 the foliage begins to die down withhold water and put the 

 pots in a dry place where they may remain undisturbed until 

 the season returns for potting them again. 



LiLiuM. — A certain few, amongst the many fine lilies in cul- 

 tivation, are of great value as pot plants for the embellishment 

 of the conservatory, but are not often so well grown as they 

 might be. The introduction of the noble L. auratum has 

 attracted fresh attention to liliums generally, and the lovely 

 varieties of i. speciosuni (lancifolium) have been in increased 

 demand and in many instances of late have been presented at 

 exhibitions in a remarkably fine state of development. The 

 modest L. longiflorum with its pure white flowers, and the 

 dashing L. Fortunei, which is a gigantic variety of L. tiffrinum, 

 are worth a little extra care to bring them to perfection 



