THE ARABIAN STAR-FLOWER. 



283 



sometimes grow among them, and even make 

 a very beautiful fence ; but to enjoy a fence of 

 that sort it is necessary to avoid trimming it 

 every year, in the way which is usual in the 

 midland counties and where land is precious. 

 Let the woodland fence grow freely and only 

 cut it down every ten years or so, and such bold 

 fences are far better in their effect round wood- 

 land than small trim fences, while they may be 

 more effective against any stock, and often as 

 pretty as any garden with wreaths of Honey- 

 suckle, Clematis, and Wild Rose. 



* * * 



THE ARABIAN STAR-FLOWER 



(Ornithogalum arabicum) . 



This fine plant of the Mediterranean region is 

 one of the most beautiful of the many kinds of 

 Ornithogalum, but is little grown, 

 and not often well flowered. In the 

 few places in which it does well in 

 the open, the soil is warm and well 

 drained, such as sandy shales over- 

 lying gravel, and liable to drought 

 in summer. A time of complete 

 rest is needed for its successful cul- 

 ture. Accustomed to the rainless 

 summers of the Mediterranean 

 shore region, from the time of its 

 flowering in June until far into the 

 autumn its bulb is exposed to a heat 

 which, in any open spot, dries the 

 soil like ashes for several feet in 

 depth. In our gardens, therefore, 

 we have to reproduce the same 

 conditions as far as may be by other 

 means. Not only must a dry and 

 sunny spot be chosen, but, if grown 

 in the open ground, it should be a 

 place apart, where watering can be 

 avoided, and the dormant crowns 

 sheltered from heavy rains by a 

 hand-glass or some such protec- 

 tion. When flowered in pots the same pur- 

 pose may be served by a cold frame placed in 

 the hottest spot available, where not only the 

 Star-flower, but the more tender Anemones, 

 Freesias, the Italian Scillas, and many other 

 bulbs, might be left to bake in full sunshine 

 and be all the better for it. Among southern 

 growers it is a common practice, where the 

 soil is at all cold or heavy, to take the plants 



up as soon as the leaves wither and leave them 

 exposed to the air, and often in the full sun, 

 throughout the summer ; in some cases they 

 are even kept out of the ground for an entire 

 season, and though this is attended with some 

 loss the "rested" bulbs are sold at a higher 

 price than those fresh lifted, and regain their 

 size and firmness when planted. But even 

 when undisturbed, in the open ground the ar- 

 rest of growth is absolute, the withered leaves 

 crumbling to powder. Not only did our Star- 

 flowers bloom profusely each season, but never 

 more so than when, through incidental changes, 

 they were left in a heap for many weeks, fully 

 exposed to the sun. Those who have hitherto 

 failed in getting a good result with this beauti- 

 ful plant will be wise to adopt some such device 

 for the complete ripening of the fleshy bulbs, 



which, failing this, often lie dormant or nearly 

 so for several seasons. In such a year as the pre- 

 sent, when the ground has had no chance to get 

 either warm or dry, the best hope is to lift the 

 bulbs at the close of the flowering; season in 

 early summer, and dry them thoroughly on a 

 shelf in the greenhouse, keeping them warm 

 and dry till planting time in the following 

 spring. B. 



