THE LTFE-HISTORr OF PLANTS. 



295 



seedlings are no improyement upon them ; also the 

 seeds are slow to germinate, and much patience is re- 

 quired, and if the seed is kept for a time its germi- 

 nating power becomes lost. The seed of some of the 

 sorts will not germinate for a whole year. Those 

 who have a desire to raise seedlings would do well to 

 take some seeds from a few of the hest varieties they 

 may grow, and sow it as soon as it is ripe in shallow 

 boxes filled with a light soil, placing them in a cold 

 frame, moistening the surface when necessary^ and 

 waiting patiently for the young plants to appear. 

 When they are large enough they should be trans- 

 planted to a warm border to grow into size, and then 

 they can be planted out where they are to flower. 



Choice varieties can be increased by division of the 

 roots. In order to have young growths out of which 

 to make plants, the flower-stems should be cut away 

 as soon as they have done blooming, and the plants be 

 well watered if necessary ; they will then begin to 

 put up young growths, and by careful division of. 

 these when strong enough a number of young plants 

 can be obtained. As a matter of precaution, it is 

 well to put them singly into pots, using a suitable 

 soil, and keep them in a cold frame, shading from 

 the sun, and occasionally sprinkling overhead in dry- 

 ing weather. When they have made roots they can 

 be placed in the open border with the certainty of 

 success. 



Some thirty or so years ago, Mr. W. Lobb, the 

 collector, sent home from California a scarlet-flowered 

 Delphinium, named carcUnale, of which great expecta- 

 tions were formed ; but it was found difiicult to cul- 

 tivate successfully in this country, and now it has 

 become almost extinct. It was hoped that it would 

 prove a valuable species for hybridising, but we be- 

 lieve nothing came of it. A few years ago, B. niidi- 

 caule (the Dwarf Eed Delphinium) was introduced from 

 CaKfornia, and being much more capable of naturali- 

 sation than D. cardinale, it has become a favourite in 

 gardens ; but it requires to be grown in a warm 

 position. On a stiff wet soil, it soon rots. When it 

 dies down in autumn, the roots are quite on the sur- 

 face, and it is a good and safe plan to cover them 

 with some good soil to insure their growth in spring. 

 It deserves the little extra care it requires, for it is a 

 charming species. 



The following makes a fine selection of Del- 

 phiniums : — 



Double-flowered Varieties. 



Single-flowered Varieties. 



Alopecuroides, bronzy-blue. 

 Britannicus, rosy-lilac and 



bright blue 

 Dicksands, deep plum - 



purple and pink. [lilac. 

 Exquisite, cobalt-blue and 

 Hermann Stenger, violet 



and blue. 

 Lamartine, rosy - lilac and 



azure-blue. 



Michelet, blue and lilac. 



Mozart, mauve, blue and rose 



Noblissima, blue, rosy-lilac, 

 and orange. 



Paul et Virginie, bright blue, 

 bronzy-red, and white. 



Eanunculaeflorum, bronzy- 

 lilac and cobalt-blue. 



Victory, violet-blue, lilac, 

 and white. 



Admiration, violet-blue and 

 white. 



Brilliant, shining indigo- 

 blue. 



Cantab, pale blue, white 

 centre. 



Enchantress, lavender-blue. 

 Formosum, dark blue. 

 Illustration, blue and lilac. 



La Belle Alliance, sky-blue, 



white, and orange. 

 Madame A. Etienne, clear 



violet. 



Magnificum, brilliant blue 



and bronzy-red. 

 Miss Payne, azure-blue. 

 M. Riviere, violet-red. 

 Mr. Gerard Leigh, sky-blue. 



THE LIFE-HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



By Dr. Maxwell T. Masteks. F.E.S. 



GBOWTE— BULBS, COBMS, AND TUBEES. 



IN pursuance of our plan of tracing the history of 

 plant-growth from its several starting-points 

 onwards, we come now to the consideration of a 

 number of organs dift'ering from either seeds or 

 buds, but having much analogy to both. And first of 

 Bulbs. 



Varieties in Bulbs. — There are many dif- 

 ferent sorts of bulbs, as any one may see who 

 compares that of an Onion or a Hyacinth with 

 that of a White Lily, that of a Snowdrop or a 

 Tulip with that of an Amaryllis. It forms no 

 part of our plan to describe all these varieties in 

 detail, though we strongly recommend the young 

 gardener to examine the mode of growth of bulbs of 

 various kinds at various stages, as a valuable means 

 of gaining an insight into the course of plant-life. 

 Here we can only point out the main circumstances 

 upon which the variations depend, and suggest some 

 of the inferences that may be drawn as to the nature 

 of bulbs, the work they do, and their appropriate 

 treatment. Speaking generally, they consist of a 

 number of leaf-scales, enclosing or wrapping round 

 a central growing point ; and so far they exactly 

 correspond with the buds. Like many buds, they 

 contain not only the rudiments of leaves, but the 

 beginnings of the flowers ; like many buds also, they 

 often contain the germ, not only of the next season's 

 growth, but of that of subsequent ones also ; or, at 

 least, they contain growing points of difiterent gene- 

 rations, just as was pointed out in the case of the 

 Ash (Fig. 18, p. 195). The individuality or indepen- 

 dence which has been already mentioned as one of 

 the characteristics of ordinary buds, is much more 

 marked in that modification of a bud which wo call 

 a bulb. Indeed, a bulb, as a rule, constitutes the 

 whole of the plant ; but it may be merel}^ the ter- 

 minal bud of an underground stem or branch, and 

 hence, though there is usually no difficulty in de- 

 fining a bulb, there are sometimes cases in which it 

 is difiicult or impossible to draw a line of demarca- 

 tion between it and other structures like buds — 



