160 A GUIDE TO FLORICULTURE. 



scarlet colors as to surpass any velvet in comparison with 

 their richness. The flowers are not so compact as the Am- 

 aryllis tribe, but their richness of beauty fully compensates 

 for that deficiency. 



The cultivation of Spreikelia formosissima is generally 

 confined to pot culture, in which it will do equally as well 

 as in the open ground. They will require attention, and a 

 shady situation, if confined to the pot. It is said, if you take 

 up the bulbs in the summer, and cut off the foliage and root 

 fibres, and plant them, they will flower again the same sea- 

 son. I should be loath to vouch for its correctness, having 

 never tried the experiment, but heard the above related by 

 an experienced gardener. If true (which I have no reason 

 to doubt), it must necessarily weaken the bulb, and prevent 

 its flowering the following season; no benefit could be 

 gained by such an experiment. 



I would suggest to those who wish to flower these bulbs 

 in pots, that after their object is attained, the blest plan 

 would be to sink the pot under ground, as the bulbs would 

 mature their foliage better ; for the flowering of the Ama- 

 ryllidae tribe depends more on the state of ripeness the leaves 

 attain, than almost anything else. Their flowering the 

 following season depends wholly on what state of perfection 

 the leaves are brought to ; it is useless, therefore, to expect 

 perfection, unless the foliage be well brought forward, which 

 is not apt to be the case if retained in the pot. The Ama- 

 ryllis does not produce well if planted under the soil, which 

 will account for bulbs generally not flowering. 



Spreikelia formosissima was formerly called Amaryllis 

 formosissima, but their treatment is different from the Ama- 

 ryllis, although it may be a species of that tribe ; you must 



