52 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



bulbs, we expect to deal in nearly every ease with what we call 

 tender bulbs, or in other words a class of bulbs that must be planted 

 in the spring, cared for during the time of bloom, which is usually 

 during the warm months, and then lifted and stored in a warm 

 store room or cellar away from cold and exposure, and treated with 

 almost as much care as a child. In fact, when we stop to think of 

 it, there is something very human about all plant life and especially 

 so with the tender bulbs, but I think you will agree with me when 

 I say they are worth their extra care when we fully realize their 

 possibilities in the way of bloom. To take our subject alpha- 

 betically we will begin with 



Amaryllis formosissima, called Jacobean lily, or Indian red 

 daffodil. While this bulb is really a Sprekelia, and not an Amaryllis 

 at all, we seldom hear it called by its true name. It is a native of 

 South America, and was first introduced in Europe in 1593, but 

 owing to its being classed with the daffodils, and its nature not 

 properly understood, it was soon lost to cultivation for a time until 

 greenhouses and stove houses were brought into use so that the tender 

 bulbs could be protected during cold seasons. It is one of the first 

 and brightest of the tender bulbs to bloom ; they are hardly more 

 than put in the ground when the bright red petals push their way 

 through the brown earth in advance of any foliage, and when they 

 are planted in quantity the effect is striking. It must be a sight 

 to see them blooming in their natural haunts. Miller's Gardening 

 Dictionary speaks of them as producing flowers two or three times 

 a year, but this I do not know from experience. For garden cul- 

 ture plant the bulb in May, and cover about three inches; when 

 the foliage has ripened in the fall they must be lifted and stored 

 in a warm place. 



We next come to the Arums, which are often called snake lilies, 

 black callas, monarch of the east, etc. For my part I cannot see 

 ' any particular beauty in these bulbs, the flowers of which emit a 

 very disagreeable and offensive odor; however, there seems to be 

 quite a demand for them; the fact of their making a large bulb 

 may account for it somewhat, or they may be useful for foliage 

 effects after removing the blossoms. A bulb that should be better 

 known and more freely planted is Bcsscni elegans or coral drops. 

 It is a very small bulb, but the red flowers are borne on long grace- 



