IXIA 



well to sprinkle a handful o£ sand ou tlie spot where 

 the bulbs are to lie. This helps the drainage, especially 

 on heavy lands, and prevents rotting. The bulbs should 

 then be covered with about 3 inches of leaves, hay, or 

 better still, pine needles. In the latitude of Boston, 

 bulb beds can be uncovered during the first week of 

 April. However, there will still be sharp frosts to nip 

 the tender shoots that have started beneath the winter 

 covering. Consequently a little hay or other covering 

 material should be left near by, where it can be easily 

 gotten when a chilly evening threatens. In ten days 

 the young sprouts will become sufficiently hardened to 

 withstand any subsequent cold. Even such hardy 

 things as Alliums, when first uncovered, can hardly 

 withstand any frost at all. It is, however, a mistake to 

 wait two weeks longer and then permanently uncover 

 the bulb beds, for by that time the earlv-starting things 

 are likely to be so lank and long that they never attain 

 ideal sturdiness. It is better to uncover too early than 

 too late. The secret of success with Ixias outdoors is 

 largely in hardening the plants in early spring and in 

 never allowing them to grow too fast under cover, 

 where they become yellow and sickly. During the win- 

 ter shutters can be placed over the bulb beds to shed 

 the rain; but the bulbs do as well without this protec- 

 tion, though they may be later in starting. Of course, 

 Ixia bulbs cannot stand any 

 freezing, and they must, 

 therefore, be planted in un- 

 frozen soil. After flower- 

 ing, let the bulbs i 



^ 



the 



lid of 



July : then take them up, 

 and store them, not in dry 

 earth, but in boxes without 

 any packing. Let them re- 

 main in a dry place until 

 they are wanted for Novem- 

 ber planting. In the south- 

 ern part of England Ixias 

 can be planted 6 inches deep 

 in hardy borders as late as Decem- 

 ber, and Krelage, perhaps thinking 

 of still warmer regions, considers 

 summer-blooming bulbs, and 

 planting from October to 

 December. In the writer's experi- 

 ence, the flowers from the old bulbs 

 are not at all inferior in succeeding 

 years: indeed, the contrary has been 

 the case, and the bulbs he raises ar" 



uper 



the ones he buys. 



Amateurs are commonly advised to 

 throw away the offsets because fresh 

 bulbs are cheap. Yet the under- 

 signed finds that many of the off- 

 bloom the first year and nearly 

 all of them the second. 



It is commonly thought that if 

 Cape bulbs are ever raised com- 

 mercially in America, California or 

 the co,astal plain of the southern 

 states would be the fittest regions for 

 the industry. The writer knows of 

 Ixias being raised commercially near 

 Boston with every prospect of suc- 

 cess. It is .strange that Tritonias, 

 Sparaxis and Babianas cannot be 

 grown in the same way, though it is 

 some consolation that they can be so 

 easily grown in pots. To the under- 

 signed Ixias are the most pleasing 

 of all bulbs. He has thousands in 

 bloom in the month of June, and 

 thinks they make a braver show even 

 than tulips. •^. E. Endicott. 



CCLTURE OP Ixias in Greenhouses. -Ixia bulbs can 

 be planted any time from September 15 to October 30, the 

 sooner thebetter. In general, tender bulbs of small size 

 tend to lose vitality when kept a long time in the dry 

 airof warehouses. Ixia bulbs should be planted an inch 

 deep, 5 or 6 in a 5-in. pot, or 8 to 10 in a 6-in. poi. They 



IXIA »ay 



like a compound of sandy soil and leaf-mold. It is sup- 

 posed that three-fourths of the failures with Ixias are 

 due to hasty forcing. The pots should be stored under 

 a bench or in a rather dark cellar, at a temperature of 

 45°. The object is to hold back the tops while the roots 

 are growing, in order to get stocky, well colored, slowly 

 started shoots. They 

 need no water until 

 growth has started. Then 

 water carefully until the 

 flowers come, as the 

 young plants are liabli- 

 to rot at the surface ot 

 the ground. While flow 

 ering water freely. At 

 ter flowering, some gar- 

 deners give the plants 

 no water. Others keep 

 the soil moist until the 

 leaves turn yellow, and then 

 gradually withhold water. As to 

 temperature, the plants may be 

 brought into a cool greenhouse 

 (50°) when well started, and to- 

 wards the end of January may be 

 given 5° more heat if flowers are 

 desi:ed as early as the middle of _ 

 March. Ixias have to be staked " 

 and tied. The old bulbs, from 

 which the offsets have been re- 

 moved, may be used again. Ixia 

 bulbs, which are really flbrou-- 

 coated corras about K in. thick, 

 keep as well as Freesias. Seed 

 lings flower the third year. 



W. M. 

 Culture of Ixias in Cold- 

 frames.— Choose for the frame 

 an open place, sheltered from 1189. Ixia maculata. 

 north and west winds. In its CXM.) 



construction give especial care 



to providing good drainage, to close-fitting .and snug 

 banking, so that frost, mice and moles can be kept out. A 

 sandy soil, without manures, is safest and best for Ixias. 

 If fertilizers are used they must be placed several inches 

 below the bulbs, never in contact with them. As in out- 

 door culture, the bulbs must be planted late and in soil 

 well dried by placing the sashes over the frame some 

 time beforehand. Plant about 3 inches deep, as far 

 apart, and treat afterwards much as in greenhouse cul- 

 ture. Take off the sashes in early M.ay to show the mass 

 of rich, odd flowers which, ordinarily, will open about 

 that time and last for several weeks. If the frame is to 

 have other tenants through the snmnipr. tl;p Ixias may 

 be taken up after their tops are d.-n.l .■md stm-.-d in dry 

 sand till planting time comes ar.Mnid .•i-^iin. i itherwise, 

 merely cease watering as the tcp-^ "t tin- Ixia-; die down, 

 and put on the sashes again, tiltiiii; tliciii su tliat they 

 will give air and shed rain. L. Greenlee. 



ladelplia, 13. polystafhya, 4. 



flexnosa, 5, oclorat.i, 1. speciosa, 8. 



longiflora, 2. ov.ata. 11. vindiflora, 12. 



A. Tube of periatilJi dllati-d below the limb ivio a 



distiiu-t funnel. 



1. odorita, Ker. FIs. pure yellow. B.M. 1173. 



AA. Tube of periaruh not dilated. 



B. Length of tube 2X-S in. 



•> paniculata, Delaroche (/. /o«f/i «'>'•", Berg.). Fig. 



1188. Segments white, often tinged red: throat same 



color or black. B.M. 2.'i6 and 1502. 



BE. Length of tube 1 in. 

 3. aristata, Ker. FIs. whitish, according to Baker, but 

 a fine pink in B.M. 589. 



