94 BULBS AND TUBEROUS-ROOTED PLAKTS. 



All the species are desirable border plants, as they are 

 among the earliest of spring flowers, and remarkably 

 showy. Most of the species are rich in spots or mark- 

 ings ; some are checked in the manner and as regular as 

 the chess-board. All are of the easiest culture, and 

 require only to be planted in any good soil moderately 

 rich and made light. While they are included in our 

 list of hardy bulbs, and are hardy in the general accepta- 

 tion of the term, they are greatly benefited by a liberal 

 mulching of leaves during winter, quite as much to pro- 

 tect against alternate freezing and thawing, as against 

 cold. The bulbs do not require frequent changing, but 

 can remain a number of years after planting without 

 removal. As they soon die down after flowering, annu- 

 als or bedding plants can be planted in the same bed, 

 thus keeping up a succession of flowers, without injury, 

 in fact, with benefit to the bulb. There are many spe- 

 cies and varieties. 



F. Meleagris. This is the well-known Guinea-hen 

 flower, a native of England, growing naturally in moist 

 meadows or near rivers, and does not attain its full ^ize 

 if grown in dry soil. There are several varieties, differ- 

 ing only in the color of the flowers, which are variable 

 from purple to nearly white. The bulb is small, white 

 and flat, each bulb producing but a single flower. 



F. imperialis (The Crown Imperial). This spe- 

 cies is a native of Persia, and was introduced into Eng- 

 land previous to 1596, as Gerard mentions it in his 

 Herbal of that date, praising it on account of "its stately 

 beautifulness," and accords it "the first place in the 

 garden of delight." This is the least cultivated, and, 

 perhaps, the least known or popular of all the bulbs, yet 

 it is one of the most noble of spring-flowering species, 

 and should be found in every collection, no matter how 

 small. It usually attains a height of from two to three 

 feet, bearing an umbel of bell-shaped flowers, red or 



