BULBOtrS PLANTS. 



153 



iag. Indeed, it is a good plan to have separate 

 borders, keeping the spring and autumn flowers 

 separate. The bulbs may be better managed by so 

 doing, and the flowers always look better when in 

 masses. The bulbs should be planted rather deepty, 

 so as to he beyond the reach of frost, for deep planting 

 is essential to Crocuses, because the new bulbs are 

 formed on the top of the, others, so that each suc- 

 ceeding generation comes nearer and nearer to the 

 surfaQo if allowed to remain undisturbed. 



There are two enemies to border Crocuses. These 

 are mice and sparrows ; the former attacking the 

 bulbs, the latter the flowers, particularly those of a 

 yellow colour. The onlj- remedy in case of the mice 

 is to trap them ; and sparrows may be kept in check 

 by stretching a few lines above the Crocus blooms ; 

 this wiU frighten the birds and keep them away. 



Propagation of Crocuses is so rapid, by means of 

 the bulblets, which are formed upon or by the side 

 ■of the parent bulbs, that it is scarcely worth the 

 trouble to raise seedlings, although this may be done. 

 The power of propagation by offsets varies in the 

 different species, one of the most prohflc being the 

 common Spring Crocus (C vernus). 



Fot-culture of Crocuses is usually practised only 

 in forcing the common spring kinds into flower, and 

 for the more rare and delicate species which, if 

 grown in frames with the pots plunged in ashes, can 

 receive more attention than when planted in the 

 borders. Although it is such a common practice 

 to force Crocuses, they, like Snowdrops, cannot be 

 forced into bloom easily so early as Tulips and other 

 spring bulbs, and rarely do the flowers develop well 

 Tsefore February, that is, a, few weeks before they 

 naturally flower in the open air. The bulbs, as a 

 rule, come from Holland with the other kinds of 

 Dutch bulbs, and may be purchased from the begin- 

 ning of September onwards. As soon as received 

 they should be potted in good loamy soil, about six 

 ■or eight bulbs in a six-inch pot, which should be well 

 -drained. The bulbs should be put about an inch 

 below the surface. The pots should then be plunged 

 to the rim in ashes, in a frame or where they may 

 be protected from frost, and it is a good plan to 

 place either about an inch or so of ashes or a layer 

 ■of moss over the pots ; the whole should then be 

 watered and kept moist, but not too wet so as to 

 injure the bulbs. About the beginning of February 

 a few of the pots shoxild be taken into the green-house 

 or pit, provided it is not too warm, and placed on a 

 light shelf. The flowers wiU soon appear, and, by 

 introducing the pots a few at a time to the house, a 

 ■succession of bloom may be had, the best crop being 

 ■about the middle of March. 



Cumingia trimaculata. — A beautiful Chilian 



plant belonging to the Lily family. Its leaves are 

 grassy, and the flower-stem, which grows from a foot 

 to a foot and a half high, is much branched and bears 

 numerous beautiful blue flowers having a deep violet 

 spot at the base of three interior sepals. It is re- 

 garded as a variety of C. campanulata, a plant 

 probably not in cultivation, and which has smaller 

 flowers wholly blue, while tenella, another variety 

 of it, is characterised by its more slender growth. 

 This plant must either be cultivated in pots in a 

 green-house or frame, for though tolerably ha,rdy it 

 is in active growth during our winter, when frosts 

 and rains, if the plants were exposed, would injure 

 them. It is so beautiful that it is worth a great deal 

 of attention. It may be obtained at some of the 

 London nurseries. 



Cyanella. — The commonest species, C eapensis, 

 also called C coerulea, is a little plant, growing 

 about a foot high. It has small Crocus-like bulbsi 

 and narrow, rigid leaves, and produces slender- 

 branched flower-spikes, bearing numerous small blue 

 flowers. C. lutea is similar, having yellow flowers, 

 both being natives of South Africa, and requiring 

 green-house and frame culture, with treatment as 

 that given for Cape bulbs in general. 



Cyelobothra. — A section of the genus Calochortus, 

 including those species having the petals of the 

 flowers deeply pitted' at the base of their inner sur- 

 faces, and curved inwards, so as to give the flowers a 

 more or less globular form. The species of Calochor- 

 tus which were formerly known as Cyclobothras, and 

 are still catalogued as such, include C. alius, cceruleus, 

 elegans, Sartwegi, purpureus, and pulchellus. These 

 are all described here under Calochortus. 



Cypella. — Iridaceous plants, similar to the 

 Tiger-flower {Tigridia), and their flowers so much 

 resemble those of that genus, that C. Herberti is also 

 known under the name of Tigridia as well as 

 Marica and Morma. Its flowers are curiously 

 shaped, of a buff-orange tint, beautifully marked 

 in the centre with reddish-brown. It may be 

 grown successfully in frames or cool green-houses, 

 as Ixias are. The bulbs require to be planted or 

 potted in autumn, and the yoimg growths protected 

 from frosts during winter. In spring the growth 

 should be encouraged, as this will induce fine 

 flowers, which appear in early summer. C.Ferimiana 

 is an extremely handsome plant, resembling the Tiger 

 flower, but has a rather more slender flower-stem. 

 The flowers, borne two or three on a stem, are about 

 three inches across. They are like those of Tigridia 

 in form, bright golden-yellow, heavily barred and 

 spotted in the middle with reddish-brown. Though 

 each flower does not last longer tha,n a day, it is 



