THE BULB HOUSE. 



143 



others that may hare been kept in pots during that period, when- 

 ever they show symptoms of vegetation, whether in spring, autnmn, 

 or mid-winter. The pots best suited for bulbs should be rather deeper 

 than those in common use, because the roots of all bulbs penetrate 

 to a considerable depth perpendicularly, and being both tender and 

 brittle, if once broken or impeded in their progress, cease to grow ; 

 consequently, the plant, by being deprived of its due shai'e of nomish- 

 ment, will receive a check which will be very injurious to it, and, if 

 many of the roots are so circumstanced, the fohage wiU begin to decay 

 before it has performed its proper function. In preparing the bulbs for 

 potting, all the fragments of the old roots, if any remain, should be re- 

 moved, and also any loose skin that will part from the bulb freely, should 

 be rubbed ofi". 



The pots should be very well drained, as, during their growth, a con- 

 siderable quantity of water will be given them, which, if allowed to re- 

 main stagnant in the mould, would be of serious consequence to the 

 plants. Deep planting is to be avoided ; therefore, placing the bulb only 

 so far into the mould as to keep it in a steady perpendicular position, will 

 be all that is requisite. 



AMARYLLIS. 



Some few of this extensive genus require the temperature of the stove, 

 of which notice will be taken in the proper place. The majority, how- 

 ever, of the species, and almost all the hybrids, will flower to admiration 

 in the bulb house, and many of them even in the most ordinary green- 

 house ; while A. BelloAona, pumita, pudica, vittata, and several others, 

 wiU flower weU in a warm border, protected during winter T\ith a covering 

 of moss, fern, or dry litter. 



The foRowing excellent directions on the cultivation of this familv, 

 and those most nearly related to them, have been laid down bv the 

 late Mr. Sweet, who had more experience in their culture than any 

 man of his day. " The bulbs .having been grown in frames and pits all 

 the summer, were removed to the hot house in autumn, when they had 

 ceased growing. They were then laid on shelves in the house, and as the 

 leaves and roots began to decay, they were cleared away, that they mizht 

 not injure the bulbs. As soon as the bulbs became dn* and hard, some 

 of them began to show flower, and others continued to do so all the 

 ^vinter and sprmg, seldom being less than a hundred, sometimes two or 



