THE CAPE COWSLIPS. 



buried to the rims in a cold frame in full 

 sunlight, and kept dry or nearly so until 

 root-action begins. They may remain 

 in the open until October, with only a 

 light to keep offheavy rains ; afterwards 

 being housed for the winter in a tem- 

 perature of about 40 degrees, but al- 

 lowed all the air and sunlight possible. 

 As the flower stems show liquid manure 

 should be given, but the cooler the house 

 temperature the longer their flowers will 

 last. Cape Cowslips are often grown 

 massed in baskets, and very pretty are 

 their crowded spikes hanging in profu- 

 sion at all angles, contrasting with their 

 rather stifT appearance when in pots ; 

 none the less, when densely massed in 

 pans their effect is distinct and striking. 

 After flowering the bulbs should be 

 tended carefully until the leaves turn 

 yellow and shrivel ; the pots may then 

 be stood in the full sunshine at the foot 

 of a wall or other dry spot to ripen, 

 water being withheld and sheltered from 

 heavy rain. A few weeks of such com- 

 plete rest prepares the plants for healthy 

 growth in the autumn. 



Lachenalias are increased by means 

 of small bulbs formed around the parent ; 

 some kinds such as tricolor produce these 

 offsets freely, but in others reproduc- 

 tion is slow. It isnotuncommon,when 

 leaves of the more vigorous kinds are 

 broken or damaged, for tiny bulbs to 

 form at the point of injury, and use is 

 sometimes made of this in propagation. 

 Most sorts maybe raised from seed, the 

 seedlings flowering in their third season, 

 but this method is littleused save for the 

 raising of new varieties. The number 

 of these garden hybrids is now large, in- 



cluding kinds of great value for their fine 

 colour, vigour of growth, freedom, and 

 early flowering. By a choice of varieties 

 Lachenalias may be had in flower from 

 December to May, though the time of 

 their greatest beauty is during February 

 and March. From careful culture in rich 

 soils for years past, the present form of 

 many of these plants, with their bold 

 fleshy leaves and bright colour, is very 

 different from that of the wild bulbs, 

 bearing at most two or three small leaves 

 and inferior flowers. The bulbs vary 

 much in size and shape, some being 

 broad and rounded like certain of the 

 Scillas, others slender and elongated. 

 The beauty of the plants depends in no 

 small degree upon the rich colour as- 

 sumed by the top of the flower-stern with 

 its cluster of sterile buds ; in some kinds 

 this is the most brilliant part of the in- 

 florescence. The following species and 

 varieties are admitted by botanists, and 

 nearly all are now grown in gardens: — 



L. anguinea. — A rare plant of dwarf habit, 

 with only one broad spotted leaf, some 6 or 

 7 inches long, and a short crowded spike of 

 whitish bell-shaped flowers upon a darkly spot- 

 ted stem. April. A kind of small garden value. 



L. aurea. — Considered by botanists to be 

 a form of L. tricolor. 



L. aurea-reflexa. — A garden hybrid be- 

 tween Ls. tricolor-aurea and rejlexa, known also 

 under the name of Aldborough Beauty. It is a 

 robust plant, distinct in character, bearing two 

 broad unspotted leaves. The flowers are large, 

 and held sub-erect upon a few-flowered spike, 

 their colour bright yellow slightly tinged with 

 green. April. 



L. Cammi. — Another hybrid form, held to 

 be a cross between Ls. tricolor-aurea and pen- 

 dula. A pretty kind, early and free in flower 

 and distinct in growth. Its habit is erect, with 

 long leaves of bright shining green, covered 

 with blotches of pale brown which extend to 



