BULBOUS PLANTS. 89 



said to be a hybrid between Liliums speeiosum and auratum; it has 

 larger flowers than any of the varieties of L. speeiosum, but, with us, it 

 is very unreliable when left outside, going off suddenly without any 

 apparent cause, while both Liliums speeiosum and auratum alongside 

 do well. L. longiflorum is perfectly hardy, and with L. candidum 

 should be grown for Summer flowers. L. auratum is often unsatisfac- 

 tory, failing to start well from imported bulbs. It is of little service as 

 a cut flower, but probably the finest species of the genus for the open 

 border. As many as 50 large flowers are frequently produced in a 

 season from a single bulb. 



NARCISSUS POETICUS is the most useful of the late blooming species 

 for outdoor cutting. It should be given a permanent place in the open 

 ground, as it usually does not deteriorate, but in suitable soil rather the 

 reverse. The bulbs are procurable in large quantites at low rates, and 

 it ought to be taken into consideration that they flower yearly in the 

 open field and increase to such an extent under fairly good treatment, 

 that the bulbs which fill a given space this year will in four years fill six 

 times the space. N. p, recurvus is the best of the single forms, but other 

 kinds are sometimes sold for it. The double form is a large and hand- 

 some flower, of which we see too little. They should be lifted every 

 second or third year, as soon as the bulbs are ripe (where cultivated on 

 a large scale they are lifted every season,) the sizes sorted and immedi- 

 ately replanted, the ground having been well enriched with manure. 

 Their usual period of flowering here is from May 10th to the 20th. In 

 well-sheltered, sunny positions they flower much earlier. In order to 

 utihze space, if the rows are wide enough, stock plants of various things 

 can be planted between them. 



OXALIS— The main batch of Oxalis for Winter flowering should be 

 potted up by the middle of October. Put a single bulb in each pot, 

 using 3-inch pots to start with, and shifting on the plants as they need 

 it until they are in 5 or G-inch pots, in which they bloom. When several 

 bulbs are potted together in a large pot, at first they are certain to pro- 

 duce foliage in abundance and but few flowers. By the middle of June 

 the bulbs will be dried off; this is accomplished by withholding water and 

 turning the pots on their sides. Be careful to place them so that the soil 

 is exposed to view, as mice are exceedingly fond of the bulbs. All of the 

 kinds grown for their flowers in Winter are very prolific in the produc- 

 tion of new bulbs, that is, if sufl3cient root room has been afforded for 

 their perfect development during the growing period. Home-grown 

 bulbs are very superior to those imported. Some of the best kinds are 

 O.cernua, yellow; O. Bowiei, O. gigantea and O. hirta-rosacea, pink; 

 O. versicolor and O. lactiflora, white. O. rubricaulis is desirable not so 

 much for the flowers as for the highly colored red stems. O. Bowiei and 

 O. versicolor are well suited for baskets, for hanging in conservatories. 

 The last named requires very little heat. 



POLIANTHES TUBEROSA (Tuberose)— These are grown largely for 

 supplying white flowers during Summer and Fall months. They may 



