On the Management of Gxalis Boicici. 205 



Art. IV. On the Management of O'xalis Bowie'i. 

 By the Editor. 



We have several times been upon the point of giving an arti- 

 cle upon the treatment of oxalises, with a short notice of all the 

 species of any interest. But we have been unable, even to this 

 time, to find an opporttmity to do so in such a manner as we 

 could wish. The treatment of some of the species has already 

 been detailed by our correspondents, and INIr. Russell's excel- 

 lent article (vol. II, p. 441,) has probably afforded much assist- 

 ance to those who were wholly unacquainted with the plants; and 

 we shall refer all who wish for information in regard to the other 

 species than that which we shall now notice, the 0. Bowief, to 

 that article, until we shall complete our own, unless some of our 

 correspondents should anticipate us with a paper upon their cul- 

 tivation. 



All the species are beautiful little plants, and valuable from 

 their abundant flowering, nearly the whole winter season. Some 

 bloom as early as September, and from this period a succession 

 of flowers may be kept up by the various species until May. 

 The 0. Eowiei is one of the autumn flowering species — though 

 its bloom may be prolonged through the whole winter, as we 

 shall hereafter notice — and is, in our opinion, by far the most 

 showy and beautiful of the tribe. 



It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, where a majority 

 of the numerous species have been found, and was introduced 

 into England about the year 1823, and from thence into our gar- 

 dens sometime in 1832 or 3, since which period we have culti- 

 vated it. The leaves are large and trifoliate; the flowers appear 

 in threes or fives, on peduncles from six to ten inches long; each 

 flower, in a well grown specimen, measuring nearly an inch in 

 expansion, the whole umbel or cluster presenting a beautiful ap- 

 pearance. It is an abundant bloomer, and we have seen at least 

 a dozen flower-stems arise from a pot not more than six or seven 

 inches in diameter, having open at one time as many as fifty flow- 

 ers. The season of, its blooming is from September to Decem- 

 ber. The plants mav be treated in the following manner: — 



About the middle of August the bulbs, if standing in the old 

 pots in which they flowered last season, should be taken out and 

 the soil shaken entirely ofT. If they have been placed away in 

 papers, they will be ready to pot at any time. Select out the 

 large bulbs, such as have the appearance of being strong, from 

 the small ones; these should be planted in pots by themselves, 

 and the smaller ones also, as by setting them out promiscuousl)'' 

 the pots are filled with roots, and the flowers more scattering 

 and less abundant. The best compost which we have tried was 



