152 



THE BULB HOUSE. 



light airy part of the bulb house, or cold pit, -vrhere they are merely pro- 

 tected from frost ; for were they kept in a dark, cool, damp place, they 

 would never flower, and the more valuable, such as C, repandum, would 

 soon perish. About the month of June, the leaves die down ; the bulbs 

 should then be placed in a close, dry pit, and kept without water till 

 August, at which period they should be shaken out of the pots and re- 

 potted into fresh mould. 



On the cultmie of Cyclamen persicum, Mr. John ^Yilmot offers the 

 follovring remarks : — " As this plant blossoms early, I would advise assist- 

 ing it with a little heat. Select a few pots, and place them in the stove 

 in the beginning of February : they will soon show their blossom : remove 

 them by degrees to their old quarter, the greenhouse, and select only 

 those plants that are scented, some being much more so than others, [a 

 fact, we beheve, not generally known ;] they will soon form their seed 

 vessels, if assisted with plenty of air, and when you find the seed sufficiently 

 ripe, sow it immediately in pans. The plants will appear in the autumn : 

 let them remain in the greenhouse till the beginning of ]May ; and, in 

 removing the plants from the pans, you will find they have formed 

 bulbs about the size of a pea, and some as large as a hazel nut. Prepare 

 a bed for their reception, by digging and raking the soil to a fine mouldy 

 and cover the same over with about two inches of sifted loam, leaf-mould, 

 or rotten dung, with a mixture of sandy peat. Plant the bulbs about six 

 mches apart from each other, and let them be kept covered, either with 

 hand glasses, or vrith hot-bed sashes, to protect them from the cold, 

 and probable fi'osty nights, and in the day time admit what air is required, 

 according to the state of the weather. About the middle of summer^ 

 when you apprehend no danger from frosty nights, the glasses may be 

 taken away, as the plants will require no farther care than sufficiently 

 watering them, if the season proves a dry one, as often as occasion 

 may require. 



" At the time you remove the greenhouse plants into the house, let 

 the Cyclamen be taken carefully up and potted, one bulb in a small pot. 

 Fit the pot to the size of the plant, and be careful not to place a small 

 plant in a large pot. The pot No. 60, for small ones, and No. 48, for the 

 larger, will be sufficient ; and if a fine growing summer succeeds, some of 

 the bulbs will be two inches in diameter, and produce as much blossom 

 as a plant two years old by the drying system. By this mode of cultiva- 

 tion, a stock of that beautiful plant can easily be raised, and as time can 

 be saved in the cultivation, without any additional expense or trouble, I 

 trust I shall, in a short time, see it grawing generally with that luxuriance 



