48 



POPULAll GARDEN BOTANY. 



a variety; brilliant scarlets, rose-colours, purple, white, and 

 orange, all may be selected by applying to the list of a good 

 dealer. For autumn flowering, G. Natalensis is a very splen- 

 did plant, and is scarcely to be surpassed by any species ; 

 its flowering stem rises erect, about three feet high, and pro- 

 duces a spike of deep orange-scarlet flowers, each being 

 three or four inches long : it is a native of the Cape. These 

 plants should have rich and well- drained soil. 



IXIA. 



Gen. Char. (Triandria Monogynia.) Spatha two-valved; flower 

 with a slender tube and regular limb ; stigmas three, narrow, re- 

 curved ; capsule globose and ovate. 



The name is derived from the Greek for to fix, from the 

 sticky nature of the roots. This is a genus of Cape bulbs, 

 of great beauty, and producing flowers of many hues, as 

 pink, rose, crimson, yellow, orange, cream-colour, white, 

 and variegated, so that they are worthy of a place in the 

 greenhouse, though they are sufficiently hardy also to bear 

 planting in the garden. It is recommended that when the 

 leaves are dead the bulbs should be cleaned, dried, and put 

 away in dry drawers until October, when they must be 



