240 Notes and Gleanings. 



young foliage springs from the top of this novel flower-vase, and entirely con- 

 ceals the bulb. In this way, many pretty effects may be produced. The treat- 

 ment is the same required by bulbs in glasses. 



In Moss. — Pots or glasses may be filled with moss, and bulbs grow very 

 prettily therein. The treatment is the same as that required by bulbs in 

 earth. A very pretty way is to make a ball of moss, fill it with bulbs, wire it 

 round, and hang it in a warm, light place ; occasionally turning it to make an 

 even growth, and dipping it in water when it gets dry. The shoots of the bulbs 

 will cover the moss, and the roots will run through the inside. The Jacobean 

 \\\y {Sprekelia, or Ainaryllis forinosissiinus), grown in this way, blooms beauti- 

 fully, and is a fine summer ornament. 



In Sand. — This mode is popular, as sand is cleaner than earth, and the 

 contrast of the white sand and green leaves is very pleasing. The only care 

 necessary is to see that the sand contains no salt, and that it never becomes 

 dry. The other treatment is the same required by bulbs grown in earth. 



Crocus-Pots. — Crocus are often grown in fancy china-pots, representing 

 porcupines. They are planted so that the leaves may represent the quills of the 

 animal. The pots may be filled with earth, moss, or sand, and treated as di- 

 rected for bulbs thus grown. The great difficulty is to produce an even growth, 

 the effect generally being a porcupine with quills in a very dilapidated condi- 

 tion ; and therefore this mode of growth is not now so popular as formerly. — 

 " Bulbs,'''' by E. S. Rand, Jufi. 



Salvia Patens. — What a splendid bed this fine old plant makes ! Large 

 beds, when well filled, soon become masses of intense blue, and are then very 

 striking objects. This is one of those sterling plants that ought to be in every 

 garden. Though not quite hardy, it is one of those plants that can be preserved 

 through the winter by every one. Towards the middle of October, a dry day 

 should be chosen for lifting the roots : all the old flower-stems should be cut 

 clean off, and all the loose soil shaken off the roots. They should then be laid 

 for a few days to dry ; and afterwards be packed away in a box, putting some 

 dry sandy soil between the roots. The box may be put away in any convenient 

 place where the frost cannot enter, and may remain there without further care 

 until the following spring. Early in March, the roots should be taken out of the 

 box, potted, and placed in a warm pit or vinery, where they will speedily begin 

 to grow, so as to furnish cuttings if an increase of stock be desired. Cuttings 

 strike very readily in heat ; and if potted off as soon as rooted, and stopped and 

 shifted into larger pots when necessary, they make fine plants for turning out in 

 beds towards the end of May. The easy way in which this jilant can be kept 

 through the winter is a great recommendation in its favor to all lovers of gar- 

 dening, and particularly to those who have only very limited space for keeping 

 plants in winter, and who require all the room they have for variegated pelargo- 

 niums and tender bedding-plants. Salvia patens, when well grown in pots, makes 

 a fine plant for the conservatory, and lasts a long time in flower. Young plants 

 should be chosen and kept well stopped back to make specimens, and should 

 have liberal pot-room. — Florist. 



