380 GARDEN PLANTS. TART IT. 



Agapanthus. 



A. umbellatus BLUE AFKICAN LILY. A most noble plant, 

 occasionally but not often met with, and not thriving well, in 

 Calcutta gardens ; bears' upon a long scape, during the Rains, a 

 large umbel of large, handsome, azure-blue flowers. Requires 

 the shelter of a verandah, and to be grown in a pot. 



Polianthes. 



P. tuberosa TUBE-ROSE Gool-shul-bo. The commonest, per- 

 haps, of any plant in the gardens of India, and certainly one of 

 the most delightful. Sends up stems usually three feet high ; 

 in a soil that suited it I have seen them as high as six 

 feet, bearing hyacinth-like clusters of pure white flowers, which 

 diffuse an exquisite fragrance for a wide distance around, and 

 under some states of the atmosphere, it is said, have been seen 

 to emit electric sparks. After flowering the stems should be 

 cut down, and others will spring up in constant succession 

 throughout the year. Propagated by separation of the bulbs, as 

 it may be also from seed, which it produces in abundance during 

 the Cold weather. The double flowering variety bears lovely 

 clusters of flowers, but not nearly so fragrant as the single. The 

 stems of this variety require to be supported by stakes, or they 

 are all but sure to fall with their own weight, and then look 

 very unsightly. 



Sanseviera. 



An extensive genus of plants, many having a general resem- 

 blance to Aloes ; hardly ornamental enough to be worthy a 

 place in the garden. 



1. S. Capensis. Lately introduced into the garden of the 

 Agri-Horticultural Society, is perhaps the prettiest of any for its 

 thick, wavy, irregular-formed, dark-green leaves, with zigzag 

 lines across them. 



2. S. (Guineensis ?). A curious plant, with the leaves resem- 

 bling a bundle of long, dark-green, ribbed horns, rising out of 

 the ground ; bears in the Cold season, just upon the surface of 

 the earth, a bunch of dirty-white fragrant flowers. A single 

 leaf stuck in a pot of sand and watered will soon take root and 

 form a new plant. Requires plentiful watering. 



