General Notices. 459 



on the cultivation of such sorts as may he grown in the open ground ; and 

 beg to assure them that those which I shall enumerate are well worthy of 

 a place in every garden, and will amply repay the care that may be be- 

 stowed on them. If they are not grown extensively, they should be placed 

 in the border in front of a greenhouse, where a limited number will produce 

 the best effect ; perhaps 500 or 600 plants might be conveniently grouped 

 together. The finest hardy bulbs are, without doubt, the Alstrcemerias 

 from Chili, the Ixias, the Sparaxis, with the different species and varieties 

 of Gladiolus. In regard to the best way of managing the three first I 

 should say, choose a border in front of any house in your garden with a 

 warm exposure ; empty this border two feet deep, and put more than a foot 

 and a half of good drainage at the bottom. The soil should be a mixture, 

 such as the following: — Two fifths old peat, one fifth well decayed dung or 

 leaf-mould, one fifth loam, and one part common sand ; mix this well, and 

 fill up the border with it till about six inches of the top, in order to leave 

 room for placing the bulbs in, as they will require to be covered five or six 

 inches. In planting the Alstroemerias it will be desirable to keep them one 

 foot apart. The Ixias and Sparaxis may be planted closer. If your border 

 is about four or five feet wide, the bulbs will be most effectively placed as 

 follows: — Place three rows of Ixias close to the wall, two or three rows of 

 Alstrosmerias in the middle, and the Sparaxis may be placed in front. 

 Placed in this way they will form a neai arrangement, according to the 

 size they attain. The proper time of doing this is about the middle of 

 October, and the only thing to be observed after that is to prevent them 

 from getting too wet. As soon as frosty or rainy weather sets in, they 

 should be covered, by laying on some straw, and then some oiled canvass ; 

 or they may be provided with lights, supported on temporary frames, and 

 these may be covered. Where lights can be spared they are preferable, as 

 they keep off the rain without obscuring the light. In March the bulbs 

 will begin to show their shoots, and while the weather is not too wet the 

 lights may be taken away during the day time, and altogether removed in 

 April or beginning of May. When the weather becomes dry they will 

 require to be watered frequently, and if proper care has been bestowed on 

 them they will be in flower in June, continuing to flower, if the weather is 

 favorable, till the end of August. After flowering they should again be kept 

 somewhat dry, without, at the same time, being deprived altogether of 

 water, should there be no gentle showers, during the time they are ripening 

 their seeds. By the end of September the bulbs should be taken out and 

 kept clean and dry on a shelf in an airy part of a greenhouse, and where 

 they will be out of the direct rays of the sun. Gladiolus floribundus and 

 gandavensis are the two best in respect of their flowers and their hardy 

 character. G. gandavensis, especially, is a very fine hybrid between 

 G. cardinalis and G. psittacinus ; it is, in every respect, far better than its 

 parents. The best way to treat it is to prepare a small bed in the flower 

 garden with rich sandy soil. Take about a dozen or fifteen strong bulbs, 

 and put them in by themselves, about six or seven inches deep. This may 

 be done in the middle of October ; they do not require any cover over them 



