ON ROOM PLANTS. 



777 



often fragrant flowers with ease of culture. There are such a 

 number adapted for pot culture, that it is impossible to 

 enumerate them all. L. speciosum and its varieties, L. longiflorum 

 (Fig. 517), L. auratum and its varieties, and L. Harrisi are all 

 suitable for pot-work. The soil should be two parts fibrous peat to 

 one part each of peat and decayed manure, with plenty of sound and 

 good drainage material. The pots should be plunged as advised 

 for other bulbs, and when there is evidence of growth being 

 active the plants should 

 be given a place in the 

 window. As they grow 

 they should be liberally 

 treated in the matter of 

 watering, and receive a 

 stimulant, either in the 

 shape of a mulch (for 

 which some gardeners 

 leave ample room when 

 potting) of loam and 

 well-rotted manure, or one 

 of the artificial manures 

 so largely used for pot- 

 plants. This treatment 

 should be given until 

 after flowering, when the 

 stimulant must be with- 

 held and the moisture 

 reduced to allow the 

 bulbs to ripen ; after 

 this, they should be re- 

 potted. 



Fritillarias are seldom 

 grown as pot-plants by 

 amateurs, though most 

 are admirably suited for 

 such a mode of culture 

 alike as regards their 

 distinctness of flower and 

 dwarf habit. Some beau- 

 tifully chequered flowers 

 are found amongst the 

 species and varieties 

 available. F. Meleagris, 

 F. aurea, and F. armena 



are desirable kinds. The bulbs should be potted in autumn in 

 leaf-mould, fibrous loam, and peat in equal parts, and then kept 

 in a cold frame until the flower-buds are well advanced, when 

 they may be housed. Still further variety in bulbs might be 



Fig. 5(8. — Gladiolus insignis. 



