ERYTHRINA — EUCHA RIS. 



33' 



treat similarly to the young plants. Brown scale and mealy bug are the principal 

 enemies of Eranthemums, and the plants must be kept free of them by means of 

 sponging with soapy water. 



erythrina. — E. indica is the only species recommended for stove culture. It is a 

 native of the East Indies : stems, hard and prickly ; foliage, elegant ; flowers, brigh t 

 scarlet. Of this there is a white flowered variety ; another (E. i. marmorata) has 

 leaves blotched and spotted with white, while E. i. Parcelli, from the South Sea 

 Islands, is still more beautiful, the leaves being prettily feathered with yellow. This 

 species and its varieties are propagated in the spring by cuttings of young shoots 

 taken with a heel, and inserted in sandy peat in a temperature of 75°, not confining 

 them too closely. When rooted pot singly, and from small sizes gradually shift into 

 larger pots, using a compost of equal parts loam, peat, and decayed manure with a 

 sprinkling of sand. The plants ought to have a sunny position in an ordinary plant 

 stove, gradually withholding water in the autumn to produce rest. Prune lightly 

 a few days before watering, start the plants in genial heat in the spring, and re-pot 

 or top-dress with rich compost before they have made much growth. 



EUCHAEIS. 



" Amazonian Lilies," as Eucharises are sometimes termed, belong to the Amaryllis 

 family and are established favourites with the flower-loving public. Well-flowered 

 plants are highly attractive and equally suitable for house decoration or exhibition, 

 while the flowers in a cut state are of considerable value, especially for making into 

 wreaths, crosses, and other devices. A great point in favour of the plants is that two 

 or three crops of flowers are frequently obtained from the same pots of bulbs in one 

 year. There is one great drawback to their culture — the extreme liability of the bulbs 

 to be infested by the Eucharis mite, a small pest that has ruined innumerable plants in 

 this country. The knowledge that so many persons have failed to keep their Eucharises 

 in good health has the effect of adding a zest to their culture by gardeners, and the 

 majority succeed in their object. 



The species long known as Eucharis amazonica, is now termed E. grandiflora, and 

 is generally cultivated. It forms long, broad, somewhat succulent green leaves, and 

 egg-shaped bulbs, with a rather long neck. The flowers are large, or from 4 to 5 inches 

 across, pure white, drooping, and from four to six are borne on erect scapes about 

 2 feet long. E. Candida, also from New Grenada, has broadly elliptic bulbs with a 



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