SO^rE GOOD colchicums. 



65 



Cftapter XXI — Colcbicums. 



The popular name of " Autumn Crocuses arose from the close 

 resemblance of these flowers to the well-known Crocuses of spring, 

 and has the merit of being accurately descriptive, if nothing more. 

 They pr^'duce much larger blooms than Crocuses, and differ from 

 these again in sending up their flowers in autumn and the bold 

 leafage in spring. 



Selection of Colcliicums. 



autumiiale, purple. Xii- Byzantiiiiim. purple rose. 



merous varieties, inclucl- Sibthorpii, white, spotted 



ing double white, purple, purple. 



rose and striped {see p. 6^) speciosura, puqilish rose. 



Bornmiilleri, purple and variegatum, white, spotted 



white. lilac. 



Cbapter XXn.— Crinums. 



Foremost though they be among the many fine members of the 

 . great Amaryllis family, it is an unpleasant fact that Crinums are 

 not the plants for everybody. Beautiful in flower, stately in habit, 

 and handsome in foliage, it is little wonder the owner of small 

 ■■ glass structures and a garden whose soil is heavy and cold sadly 

 ' shakes his head as he passes some splendid specimen in the 

 ^ more favoured garden of a neighbour. 



For garden purposes Crinums can be divided into three sections, 

 i.e. those requiring a stove temperature, those which succeed in a 

 i greenhouse, and the few that thrive in the open, and are, in fact, 

 i hardy in sheltered places. The two former are grown in large pots 

 j or tubs, in a compost of sound loam and peat, two parts of the 

 former to one of the latter, with the addition of sufficient sharp 

 sand to keep the whole porous. Crinums love plenty of water 

 when growing and flowering, but ^^'ith rare exceptions they abhor 

 stagnant moisture. As the bulbs are large, the pots for their 

 I accommodation must of necessity be large too, and they must be 

 ' efifectively drained. Fortunately Crinums do not need re-jDotting 

 i every year after they reach a flowering size, but it is a good plan 



' E 



