38 



AMARYLLIS. 



vast number of varieties are from Brazil and the 

 Cape of Good Hope, but there are several hundred 

 hybrids, and many are of surpassing loveliness, 

 with large drooping, bell-shaped, lily-like blossoms, 

 varying in hues, from white to the richest crim- 

 son. Some are striped with crimson or scar- 

 let. Their gorgeous flowers can be produced 

 nearly every month in the year. This with their 

 ease of culture, makes them highly desirable for 

 the window-garden. The habit and duration of 

 several varieties differ widely. 



SOIL AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 



They thrive best in a soil composed of one part 

 loam, one part peat, and one part well-rotted cow 

 manure, with a slight mixture of sand. Pot either 

 variety, except A. Purpurea, in six or eight inch 

 pots, and having filled them with soil to within an 

 inch of the rim, press the bulb down about half its 

 diameter into it, then water thoroughly and give 

 them an even moderate heat. 



Amaryllis are increased by offsets from the 

 bulbs. 



The general treatment applicable to all the vari 

 eties of Amaryllis, except Purpurea, is that when 

 growth commences, give water freely once a week 

 and liquid manure occasionally. In a few weeks 

 they will develop flowers. Often the first sign of 

 growth will be the flower stalks, and frequently the 

 second one will appear while the first is in bloom, 



