CSOTJ'X r.VPElilAL. 3 



note that " the whole plant and e\'ei'y part thereof, as 

 well rooteSj as leaves and flowei's, doe smell somewhat 

 strong, as it were the sauour of a foxe, so that if any doe 

 but come neare it^ he eaniiot but smell it, which }'et is not 

 unwholesome/'' 



The crown imperial requires a. rich deep soil and a sunny 

 exposure. The bulbs beiug- planted in September or October, 

 will produce their flowers in the subsecpient ^lavch and 

 April, and will die down early enougli for the occupa- 

 tion of the ground by summer flowers. To do justice to 

 this noble lily, it should be abundantly fed, hence in pre- 

 paring the soil for it, manure should be liberally added, and 

 in the spring, when the stems are rising, it will be an 

 advantage to mulch around the stems with fat old manure 

 to feed those surface roots that appear at the base of the 

 stems. If grown as thus advised, every bulb will jjroduce 

 two or three stems, and each of these \\'ill produce a large 

 bulb. Thus the crop may be said to prove profitable without 

 resorting to the sowing of seeds. It has been our custom, 

 as soon as the stems were in some degree decayed, to lift the 

 bulbs and store them in a cool place in sand, until the time 

 for planting them again. If it is intended to raise plants 

 from seed, it will be advisable to sow the seed as soon as ripe, 

 at the end of ^lay or early in June, and it will Ije safer to 

 sow in pans or boxes than in the open ground. 



The smaller fritillaries are better adapted for pot culture 

 than the crown imperial, although, as remarked above, we 

 have made a pot plant of the latter to some purpose. A 

 very important species, because of its variations as well as 

 its intrinsic beauty, is F. iiieleagris, the snake's-head lily. 

 In ";\Iaund's Botanic Garden" (vi. 21.5) \\% are informed 

 that as many as four distinct varieties may be obtained ; 



