64 KECOED OF HOKTICULTUKE. 



pregTiatiiig the stigma of one flower with the pollen from 

 another. 



Gather the seed when fully ripe and put away in a dry 

 place until wanted for use. Early in the spring sow them 

 in good rich soil ; if it is naturally heavy, add sand, leaf- 

 mold, or some similar material that will make it light and 

 j^oi'ous, so that the seeds will not meet obstruction in their 

 growth. Sow the seeds in drills, covering them about a 

 half inch deep. If the weather should be dry, give the 

 seed-bed a liberal supply of water Avhenever required. In 

 tlie fall apply a good and liberal dressing of coarse ma- 

 nure, to protect the young bulbs from frequent freezing and 

 thawing. The bulbs may be allow^ed to remain in the 

 seed-bed two years, at the end of which time they should 

 be transplanted to where they are to remain until they 

 bloom, wliich they will do in three to four years from seed. 



•Whenever a variety is produced worthy of propagation, 

 it should be taken up and planted in a separate bed, where 

 more care can be given it than if allowed to remain among 

 the other bulbs. In some species the bulbs multiply by 

 natural divisions, in addition to the formation of new ones 

 on the stems above the main bulb. All the species under 

 consideration in this article have what is termed scaly 

 bulbs — that is, they are composed of numerous thick, fleshy 

 scales, which overlap each other at the sides in an imbri- 

 cated form. These scales are all joined to a transverse 

 section of the bulb at the base, from which the true roots 

 are produced which support the bulb. 



Fig. 5 shows a bulb of L. speciosum about one half the 

 natural size. Tlie flower stem is produced from the base 



