154 



THE BULB HOUSE. 



bulbs annually from that island, and they arrive in general during the 

 months of July and August, with the flower stems more or less advanced. 

 "When they are received, they should be immediately potted in tliirty-tvvo 

 sized pots, in light, rich, tm-fy soil, and placed in a frame pit, or in front 

 of a greenhouse, or the front platform of the bulb house, that they may 

 enjoy plenty of light, air, and sunshine, which will improve the colour of 

 the flt)wers greatly. If they be placed remote from the light, the flowers 

 will be of a very pale colour ; but if brought more forward, they vdH 

 attain their beautiful and deep pink colour, for wliich they are so deservedly 

 admh'ed. Water should be given moderately and regularly, and by such 

 treatment they will continue in ])loom till October or later. It is seldom 

 that cultivators take the trouble to keep these bulbs beyond the period of 

 flowering : some, however, have done so, and have produced flowers for 

 several successive years. The following routine is recommended by a 

 con-espondent in the Horticultural Register, Vol. I., p. 695. 



" After the flowers have decayed, the green leaves will begin to shoot ; 

 and as on the perfection of the growth of these the future flowering of 

 every bulb depends, it will be necessary to render them every possible 

 assistance, and not, as is generally the case, thrust them under the stage 

 in the greenhouse, stove, or any other place where they will be out of 

 sight. The best method I know, is to make a hot-bed, and after having 

 set on a frame, lay over the dung about a foot thick of the same compost 

 they were potted in, then turn out each pot of bulbs with the ball perfect, 

 for if these are broken, their growth will be much retarded. Shelter them 

 fi'om the severity of winter, and give them water and air as they require 

 it, until the bulbs are ripe, then keep the soil perfectly dry. By this 

 treatment, many wiLL bloom the second year with great vigour. As soon 

 as the flower stems begin to show, take them up with a trowel so as not 

 to injure the small fibres that are starting, and pot them, being careful 

 to remove none but those shovring flowers. If they were allowed to 

 stand on the bed for P^'o years, and could be kept warm through the 

 second vrinter, they Tvould bloom finer than those that are imported." 



The obsei*Yarions of Thomas Andrews Knight, Esq. on this subject, are 

 so replete with sound sense and excellent practical directions, that we 

 are disposed to give them at length, particularly as they do not entirely 

 refer to the Guernsey lily in pai'ticular, but to the majority of bulbous- 

 rooted plants flowering in the same manner and at the same season. 



" Bulbous roots increase in size, and proceed in acquiring powers to 

 produce blossoms, only during the periods in which they have leaves, and 

 in which such leaves are exposed to light ; and these organs always operate 



