A SELECTION OF LACHENALIAS. 



129 



this desirable end may also be secured in some measure by'retarding 

 some jDlants when the spikes appear. Give liquid cow manure twice a 

 week from the time the spikes begin to elongate until the flowers 

 commence to fade. By these means a display may be had from 

 February to May. 



Directly the leaves commence to fade reduce the water supply, 

 and when they are yellow stand the pots in a cold frame where 

 all the sunshine possible will reach tbem, and so give the bulbs that 

 roasting without which they wiJl not flower satisfactorily the 

 following year. Wire baskets lined with moss and planted both at 

 the top and sides offer a variation — and a very good one too — 

 from pot culture. 



Selection of Lack en alias. 



Nelsoni, golden yellow. violacea, white, violetj 



pendula, purple, red, and and green. 



yellow. There are several beauti- 



tricolor, green, red, and ful hybrids and garden 



yellow. varieties, but the fore- 



going make a fine selec- 

 tion. 



CDapter XXXIX— £<JUCOjum$« 



It is quite incomprehensible, but none the less true, that among 

 fifty people who know a floral Snowdrop not more than ten will 

 be found who grow the floral Snowflakes. Yet these Snowflakes, 

 or Leucojums, are equally as beautiful as their earlier flowering and 

 better known relatives the Snowdrops. We are free to confess to a 

 deep regard for the Snowflakes, chiefly because their" beauties may 

 be enjoyed without the accompaniment of the topcoat, thick gloves, 

 and jack-boots so frequently necessary when we inspect our outdoor 

 Snowdrop blossoms. Snowflake is a pretty name, and there need be 

 no quarrel with its inventor, but Snowbell would have been more 

 appropriate and not less poetic. 



Snowflakes show to greatest advantage when planted in the rock 

 garden or among grass, but a few good clusters in the front of a 

 flower border must not be forgotten. With the exception of hyemale, 

 all the Leucojums are hardy, and hyemale only needs the protection 

 of a hand-light or frame. Being a stronger grower than the others, 

 estivum is the best for naturalisation in grass or woodland ; it 

 also likes a somewhat retentive soil as compared with the sandy 

 loam most suitable for the others, whether it be in the open or 

 grown in pots. However grown, it is highly desirable the bulbs 

 be^ procured early in the autumn and at once planted not less than 

 1 inch or more than 2 inches deep. 



vernum, white, with a estivum, white. 



green spot at the tip hyemale, white, tender. 



of each outer segment. 



I 



