Culture of Amaryllis vittata. 301 



it frequently ripens seeds ; by which means it has become very 

 common in our collections. The seeds sown immediately after 

 their maturity, and treated in the manner described below, 

 will commence flowering in three or four years, and will do so 

 every succeeding year. 



The seeds, after having been well ripened, are sown in 

 large pots, or flat boxes, in the latter end of April and be- 

 ginning of May, in a mixture of equal parts of turf and good 

 garden mould, with a little addition of sand. They require 

 the heat of a good stove or hot-bed to germinate them quickly 

 and vigorously. They will come up in a very few days, 

 and will sometimes grow till the end of July; during which 

 time they must be frequently watered, to have them in a con- 

 tinually moist state; by which means the bulbs attain, the first 

 year, the size of a large pigeon's egg. After the leaves have 

 commenced to become yellow, the plants must by degrees be 

 less watered ; and at the end of August they are generally 

 quite done growing, and the leaves all decayed. Then they 

 ought to be kept dry upon a shelf, in a stove or in a green- 

 house, in the driest and warmest spot. In this situation they 

 should remain till the end of November, at which time they 

 must be carefully taken out of the pots and boxes, the mould 

 taken entirely away without injuring the roots, which are 

 partly still alive, the decayed roots removed, and the bulbs 

 potted again in fresh mould of the same kind, and placed in a 

 dry but warm situation in the stove, without, however, being 

 watered : the damp of the house itself will give sufficient 

 moisture to occasion the circulation of the sap. At this period 

 they will again form young roots, and in the month of January 

 bring forth young leaves : then they may be gently watered, 

 and gradually more so, until they are again in a vigorous 

 state ; at which time too much water cannot be given to them. 

 The vegetation will cease at the same time it did the first 

 year ; and, by the continuation of the same treatment, in the 

 third year some of them will come into flower, though weakly. 

 The fourth year, and every year afterwards, when treated in 

 the same manner, they will flower in the months of March and 

 April without fail, and ripen abundance of seeds. 



It is particularly recommended to give them, during their 

 -full vegetation, and especially after flowering, a great heat 

 and plenty of water, to perfect the bulbs for the succeeding 

 year. 



After the bulbs have attained sufficient strength, they will 

 push two scapes, and some of them will bear four, six, and 

 afterwards eight flowers, which, by their excellent scent, per- 



