842 TRITONIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



TROLLIUS. 



make them do well, the chief point is to 

 keep them thin, and so they must be 

 divided every year. This may be done at 

 any time in autumn before the ground is 

 frozen up. My practice at Edge after 

 digging them up suppose there are twelve 

 stalks, that is, twelve bulbs in each clump, 

 with three or four young points to each 

 bulb is to have fifty or one hundred pots 

 ready and to put three bulbs into each 

 pot, filling up with any waste soil, drainage 

 being superfluous. The less they grow 

 before March the better. They must not 

 be cut down till spring. When all the 

 pots are full they are placed together in 

 some sheltered waste spot out of doors 

 and well watered for if kept dry they die 

 then they are covered with a foot or 

 two, according to weather, of dry leaves 

 or other litter, enough to ensure their 

 safety from frosts. By the end of March 

 they are safe, and may then be planted 

 out anywhere, letting the bulbs be at least 

 6 in. deep, either amongst herbaceous 

 plants, which they like, or amongst low 

 shrubs. I have some in beds of dwarf 

 Roses, where they do and look very well. 

 As they increase at least four-fold every 

 year, the gardener must harden his heart 

 and not be tempted to let them grow more 

 densely, but, as he will find that most of 

 his friends have as many as they want, 

 throw the surplus on to the rubbish heap. 

 I find one morning in each year enough 

 to dig all up and fill a hundred pots, for 

 the work may be done in the roughest 

 and most hasty way without detriment to 

 the welfare of the bulbs. Indeed, I have 

 sometimes buried the clumps in a soil 

 heap for winter, littering them over as 

 described, and planting the bulbs out by 

 threes in spring. The main objects are 

 not to let them get frozen, and not to let 

 them get dry or grow during winter. I 

 generally also replant three bulbs where 

 I dig up each clump. If the winter is 

 mild, these survive and the pots are not 

 wanted ; if they are killed, the pots take 

 their place. They flower better if a spade- 

 ful of rich stuff is put in where each pot 

 is planted. I recommend especially 

 Etoile de Feu, scarlet, A i both in colour 

 and habit ; Aurore, bright orange and 

 very robust, growing more than a yard 

 high ; Drap d'Or, bright yellow ; Solfatare, 

 pale yellow ; Feu d > Artifice and Bouquet 

 Parfait, mixed orange and yellow ; Pottsi 

 grandiflora, scarlet outside, yellow inside, 

 distinct and free flowering, with orna- 

 mental seed-heads." C. WOLLEY-DOD, 

 Edge Hall. 



T. aurea. -- This beautiful South 

 African bulb often seen in a greenhouse 



is a useful plant for the open air. It 

 grows about 2 ft. high, and has branched 

 spikes of rich yellow flowers 2 in. across. 

 Two fine forms of it are maculata, with 

 flowers deep orange colour stained with 

 brown, 3 in. across, borne on spikes 4 ft. 

 in height ; and imperialis, equally tall, with 

 large flowers, narrower in the petal and of 

 a brighter orange shade. In the garden 

 T. aurea succeeds in any soil except clay* 

 but prefers moist peaty beds associating 

 well with and under conditions favourable 

 to choice peat-loving shrubs. In the 

 warmer parts of England and Ireland it 

 may be left in the border all winter pro- 

 tected with a layer of leaves or under the 

 shelter of a south wall. It spreads 

 rapidly, becoming almost a weed in warm 

 peaty borders. Though tolerably hardy, 

 the lateness of flowering is an objection 

 to leaving the bulbs out all the winter, 

 and besides this, they are liable to be 

 killed in severe winters unless well pro- 

 tected. It is better, therefore, to lift 

 them about the middle of November. 

 Anything like drying off or storing the 

 roots in a dry place is fatal ; they should 

 not be uncovered for a single day. 



TEOLLIUS (Globe- flower). Hand- 

 some stout perennial herbs of erect 

 habit, never requiring support. They 

 may be grown in beds or borders, or 

 naturalised by ponds, streams, or in 

 any wet place, as they flourish well 

 among the natural vegetation and give 

 delightful effects. They are of a dense 

 habit of growth, and both foliage and 

 flowers rise from an underground crown. 

 The roots are numerous and deep-search- 

 ing, especially in a border where drainage 

 removes the water-level to a considerable 

 depth. The flowers vary from a pale 

 yellow to a deep gold, almost bordering 

 on vermilion. The Globe-flowers bloom 

 in spring or in summer, and are at their 

 best in April, May, and June. Occasion- 

 ally old-established plants develop a few 

 flowers in September and October ; but 

 these flowers depend alike on the season 

 and the strength of the plant itself. 

 Division in September or March ; but 

 if divided in March, a few bright dry 

 days will injure the foliage, and the 

 blossoms are certain to be puny and 

 short-lived. Another way to propagate 

 is by seeds, but Globe-flowers rarely 

 vegetate in the year they are sown, coming 

 up vigorously in the following spring, and, 

 if carefully attended to, making fine 

 flowering plants the second season ; not, 

 however, attaining their full development 

 until the fourth year or even later. They 

 grow freely in any soil, and thrive in a 



