162 



THE BULB HOrSE. 



round the bulb. They T^ill flower in the open border, if j)lanted in April 

 in a Hght compost ; but the bulbs must be taken up in October or Novem- 

 ber before being injm-ed by frost, and kept dry till the season of planting re- 

 turns. A singular circumstance is recorded by Mr. Herbert of this family, 

 viz., that the seed, which is large and round, vegetates immediately after it is 

 sown, in a remarkable manner, forming a bulb as big as itself (sometimes 

 much bigger) far under ground, without pushing any leaf. As soon as 

 the seeds rot, the young bulb should be left without water until next 

 spring. A person not aware of this pecuharity of the genus, when he 

 found the seed • rotten, would be hkely to throw away the earth without 

 suspecting the fonnation of the bulb near the bottom of the pot. If the 

 seedling of Ismene Amancaes be grown in loam," says the same high 

 authority, I beheve they would be twenty years before they attain a size 

 to flower ; in pm'e white sand, or any sandy compost, I think they may 

 flower the third." 



AMMOCHARIS. 



This genus requires a rich, rather strong soil, and to be abundantly 

 supplied with water in summer, but during ^vinter, their season of rest, 

 they should be kept perfectly dry. To flower them in full perfection, the 

 pots should be plunged in a hot-bed, carefully shading the plants from 

 the scorcliing sun, which if not attended to would destroy the fohage. 



