On the Cultivation of Alstromerias. 125 



satisfaction of seeing the others thrive much better than they had 

 done the previous year. I also took up from the border in front of 

 the stove, Tricolor and Pulchella, and gave them the same treatment. 

 When the leaves began to decay, at the end of J uly or beginning of 

 August I withheld water, and allowed the plants to rest until the 

 beginning of November, 1832, when they again began to vegetate: 

 I then repotted them, and gave them every encouragement, in 

 rich mould composed of loam, rotten dung and leaf mould with a 

 little sand ; this I find to be the best compost for growing them 

 in. As they filled their pots with roots I shifted them progressively 

 to a larger size: and had in June, 1833, the pleasure of flowering 

 the species from Mr. Nuttall and Pallida, for the first time since 

 they had been at Bury Hill ; and I succeeded in growing Tricolor 

 to the height of two feet three inches well covered with flowers ; 

 none of my pots that season were larger than what are termed six- 

 teens. When the flowering was over and the leaves were beginning 

 to decay, I again resorted to the plan of drying or resting the plants 

 till the following November ; I afterwards gave them the same 

 course of treatment as before ; but as the roots had attained a 

 greater degree of strength, the size of the pots was enlarged, until 

 some of the stronger varieties were planted in the size No. six, in 

 which they arrived at the state in which they were exhibited at the 

 Society's Garden in June, 1834. During the time of growing, I 

 keep them on a shelf or trellis, in front of the Greenhouse, having 

 upright lights about five feet high, and I give them plenty of air, 

 carefully avoiding the least application of heat, which would draw 

 them up weak, cause the flowers to be much smaller, and very 

 much injure their colours. By these means I have had them 

 continue in good bloom for full four weeks. 



I remain, Sir, 



Your obedient servant, 



William Scott. 



