THE GREEN-HOUSE. 



103 



catalogue more ample for the benefit of such as may 

 resort to this plan. 



The culture of bulbs is sufficiently simple, pro- 

 vided two points be strictly attended to : the first is, 

 to take care not to injure their leaves, and to keep 

 them near the light ; and the second is, when the 

 plants have done growing, to give them little or no 

 water. From ignorance of the importance of at- 

 tending to these two points, it is not uncommon to 

 see bulbs in green-houses, which have lived for several 

 years, and never shown any blossoms, especially of 

 the genera Crinum and Amary^llis. Whether a bulb 

 will blossom or not, depends entirely on its culture 

 during the foregoing season ; that is, on whether it 

 was so circumstanced as to bring its leaves to per- 

 fection. If the leaves were fully grown and properly 

 exposed to the influence of the light, then the sap 

 will have been duly elaborated by them, and an em- 

 bryo flower formed in the bulb ; if otherwise, no 

 embryo will have been formed, and no culture what- 

 ever during the succeeding year will eflect the pro- 

 duction of a flower during that year. All bulbs have 

 a certain period of the year, in which they are in a 

 dormant state. This, in a state of nature, is inva- 

 riably after the seeds are ripened ; but as in a green- 

 house many or most of this family do not ripen seeds, 

 the gardener is required to watch the period when 

 the leaves show indications of decay, and then to 

 lessen supplies of water, and shortly afterwards to 



