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CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



other that it is often difficult to distinguish them. 

 Both species in cultivation have narrow grassy 

 foliage, and hear slender flower - spikes generally 

 ahout a foot in height, but attaining two feet under 

 the most favourable conditions. The flowers are long 

 and tubular, with the sepals spreading an inch or 

 more across. They are always borne on the top of 

 the spike, arranged in a horizontal row, ranging 

 from four to twelve on each spike, and opening in 

 quick succession. The commonest species is F. 

 refracta. This has pale yellow flowers blotched 

 interiorly with orange and purple. The white 

 variety of this (F. refracta alba) is the loveliest of 

 all and the most popular, inasmuch as its flowers are 

 purest white, save two blotches of delicate orange- 

 yellow on the lower sepals. F. refracta has been called 

 by several names in books, but the principal synonym 

 in gardens is F. odorata — an appropriate name, as the 

 flowers are delightfully scented, the perfume being 

 similar to that of Violets. The other species is 

 named F. Leichtlinii, the flowers of which are yellow 

 and smaller than those of F. refracta, and much 

 inferior. The Freesias are peculiarly well adapted 

 for cutting, their long and slender flower-stems being 

 very elegant in vases. Moreover the flowers endure 

 a long time in water in good condition, and if cut in 

 a bud state the flowers expand in succession. 



Culture. — Though Ereesias are not really hardy, 

 they may be grown successfully in the open air 

 during summer in the warmer parts in the South of 

 England, provided the border is sunny, well drained 

 and sheltered, and the soil is light. Green-house or 

 frame culture is, however, most satisfactory, and 

 their culture in pots is simple and easily managed. 

 The bulbs may be potted in autumn, about half a 

 dozen in a pot four and a half inches across, in a 

 mixture of loam, peat, and a little manure. The 

 pots may be placed in a cool frame where frost is 

 excluded, or on a conservatory or green-house shelf, 

 but care must be taken not to water the bulbs much 

 till they show signs of growth. When leaves appear, 

 and the plants are in active growth, a liberal supply 

 of water may be given. Autumn-potted bulbs will 

 begin to flower about the latter part of January, and 

 continue in flower for some three or four weeks. By 

 potting at intervals in autumn and early winter a 

 succession of flowering plants may be had. Some 

 grow their Freesia3 in stoves and obtain flowers by 

 Christmas-time, but the bulbs so treated are weak- 

 ened by the heat and moisture. It has now been 

 proved that Ereesias can be really treated like an- 

 nuals, that is, seedlings may be had in flower within 

 a year from the time of sowing. This is a quick 

 process, and requires some skill and attention, but it 

 is easy to raise plants from seed so as to flower 

 in the second season The seed must be sown as 



soon as ripe — that is, about midsummer. The 

 seedlings will soon appear, and if these are care- 

 fully attended to during the ensuing year, they will 

 eventually make strong flowering bulbs by the 

 following spring. 



Fritillaria (Fritillarg) . — There are a great many 

 Fritillaries in gardens, but they are not all of equal 

 merit. Some, such as the common Crown Imperial 

 (F. imperialis), are amongst the handsomest hardy 

 plants in gardens, while some are scarcely worth 

 consideration, so unattractive are their flowers. The 

 larger number, unfortunately, are only to be recom- 

 mended to those who desire to make a speciality 

 of bulbous plants. The genus is essentially a 

 Northern one, but is very widely dispersed, for while 

 its head-quarters are in Europe and Asia Minor, it 

 has outlying species in the Himalayas and Japan 

 in the East, and in California in the West. With 

 the exception of these extreme Eastern and Western 

 species all are quite hardy, and may be successfully 

 grown unprotected, and with very little attention, 

 in the open border ; indeed, the majority of the 

 Fritillaries seem to thrive best under neglect. It 

 is only the Californian species, such as F. recurva, 

 pudica, and others, that present any difficulties in 

 their culture. No garden is furnished without 

 the Crown Imperial, of which there are now a 

 great many varieties, and equalty valuable are the 

 varieties of the Snake's-head Lily (F. Meleagris), 

 our native species, and F. latlfolia. All these are 

 quite capable of taking care of themselves if left 

 entirely to nature, and there can be no prettier 

 sight than to see noble groups of Crown Imperial 

 naturalised, or colonies of the Snake's-head Lily and 

 its allies. Of the fifty odd kinds known, the ma- 

 jority of which are in gardens, the following is a 

 selection : — 



F. Delphinensis . — The original form of this species 

 is not a showy plant, but the varieties of it, particu- 

 larly those named lutea, Moggridgei, and £urnati, 

 are all very handsome. In the variety lutea, the large 

 nodding flowers are yellow, chequered with brown; 

 but in Moggridgei, the flowers are larger and of a 

 golden-yellow, spotted and speckled with brown. It 

 is, moreover, much dwarfer in growth than the type. 

 Similar, but distinct in colour, is the variety Burnati, 

 with beautifully- shaped bell-like flowers, of a rich 

 reddish-brown colour, chequered with a deeper tint. 

 These varieties are very desirable plants to grow. 

 As they flower in early spring, they should be planted 

 in warm sunny borders of light soil. 



F. imperialis (Crown Imperial). — This is the most 

 important plant in the genus. It is so common that 

 it hardly needs description. When well grown its 

 stout stems are as much as four feet in height, and 



