BULBOUS FLOWERS 113 



out. They can be sunk in the beds and filled with a good mixture of 

 soil, and will serve to keep the roots of the shrubs and trees from inter- 

 fering with the bulbs. Lilies planted in this manner are generally very 

 successful." 



Mr. Wallace makes a few remarks about growing Lilies in pots, 

 selecting for this purpose such kinds as L. auratum and its varieties, 

 speciosum and its varieties, longiflorum, Hansoni, excelsum, umbellatum, 

 candidum, Henryi, and Wallichianum superbum : " The bulbs should 

 be placed in pots about two and a half times their diameter and two 

 inches below the surface of the soil. Good turfy loam, peat, and sand 

 make an excellent compost. Plunge the pots in ashes outside under a 

 wall, or in a cold frame ; and as soon as root action has well commenced, 

 take them into the greenhouse as required. When the bulbs are well 

 rooted, care must be exercised in watering ; for, as the pots are full of 

 roots, if once they get dry, serious damage is quickly done. Give auratum 

 plenty of shade and moisture ; the variety platyphyllum is a noble pot 

 plant, and very reliable. After flowering they should be plunged outside 

 in a cool, shady border ; and when the foliage has quite died down, they 

 should then be stored for the winter in a cool frame or outhouse. In 

 early spring they should be gone over, and fresh soil added and renewed." 



Muscaris, or Grape Hyacinths. These are charming little plants, 

 producing heads of bright blue, beaded bells in early spring ; they 

 are suitable for the rock-garden or sloping bank. The stronger forms 

 may also be naturalised in the grass. M. atlanticum, M. neglectum, 

 M. armenaicum, M. botryoides, M. paradoxum, M. prcecox, and M. race- 

 mo sum are beautiful kinds. M. moschatum the Musk Hyacinth is 

 valuable for its delicious perfume, while M. comosum monstrosum the 

 Feather Hyacinth is interesting from its quaint formation. M. conicum 

 is one of the best and least known of the family. The rich violet-blue 

 flowers are produced in profusion, and their delicate fragrance is enjoy- 

 able. It may be used with advantage to cover the ground in shrubberies 

 and beds where the plants are not too close together. Naturalised in 

 the grass it is quite at home, multiplying freely. The flowers last long 

 in beauty, and are useful for cutting. This useful and easily-grown 

 group is much neglected in English gardens, notwithstanding the fact 

 that a rough bank may be purpled with their flowers in early spring. 

 Plant Muscari bulbs two inches deep, and for increase separate the bulbs 

 when they are lifted. 



Narcissus (The Daffodil and Narcissus). Narcissus is the 

 Latin or botanical name for the whole of the Daffodil family, 

 and strictly speaking each one is a Narcissus. In popular 

 language it is usual to confine the word to the poeticus 

 and the bunch-flowered sections, and to leave the word 

 Daffodil to those varieties which have a larger centre. Thus 

 an Emperor or a Sir Watkin is spoken of as a Daffodil and 

 an ornatus or recurvus (Sweet Nancy) as a Narcissus. No 



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