LILIES MONTBRET1A NARCISSUS 301 



CROWN IMPERIAL {Fritillaria imperialis). This noble plant re- 

 quires a deep, rich, moist soil, and an open situation, to attain to its 

 full structure and proper degree of stateliness, but it will make a very 

 good figure in any border where it can enjoy a glimmer of sunshine. 

 There are several distinct varieties, the flowers of which range in 

 colour from palest yellow to the deepest shade of orange and reddish 

 buff, and there is one which has variegated leaves. 



MONTBRETIA 



M. crocosmiceflora is a showy autumn-blooming plant of graceful 

 branching habit, with large, bold, deep orange-red flowers which 

 attain a height of about three feet. This bulb is now classed with 

 the Tritonias, and should be cultivated in the same manner. 



NARCISSUS 



THE Narcissus differs from the Hyacinth, Tulip, and some other 

 bulbs in one particular, which is important, because it furnishes the 

 key to the management of this flower. The rootlets do not perish 

 during the season of rest, and this fact clearly indicates that the bulbs 

 should not remain out of ground for a day longer than is necessary. 

 CULTURE IN POTS. All the Polyanthus class, and almost all the 

 Garden varieties, thrive in pots, and can be forced with extreme ease. 

 Pot them early in any rich, porous compost, and put them into the 

 soil a little deeper than is usual for Hyacinths. For a few weeks 

 keep them in a cool spot -in the open ground under a thick covering 

 of ashes or cocoa-nut fibre, which will promote root-growth without 

 prematurely starting the tops. With all bulbs this is an important 

 point, especially for such as are intended to be brought forward in 

 heat. When the pots are full of roots, leaf-growth will commence, 

 and the covering should be removed. A cool pit is then the best 

 place for them. The after treatment will depend entirely on the date 

 the flowers are wanted. A low temperature, long continued, means 

 late flowering, so that within reasonable limits the grower can control 

 the time of their appearance. For the earliest display select the 

 Roman and Paper White, which are naturally early blooming varieties. 

 After a few days in the cool pit, transfer to the greenhouse, and about 

 a week or ten days before they are needed in flower, plunge them in 



