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ON THE CULTIVATION OF IXIA, &c. 



The sticks for use may be earthed into any convenient place , in the garden, 

 and taken out as wanted during the whole season. Beds managed in this way 

 have a regular and neat appearance, while those managed in the ordinary way 

 are unsightly, and on that account are generally seen placed in the least fre- 

 quented part of the garden. 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF IXIA, GLADIOLUS, WATSONIA, &c. 



BY DAVID CAMERON, A.L.S. 



The various species of Ixia, Gladiolus, Watsonia, Sparaxis, Lachenalia, and 

 other kindred genera, may be grown successfully by various methods, either in the 

 greenhouse, the cold pit, the frame, or in some sheltered gardens in the borders, 

 under the front of the houses, or beneath the shelter of a south wall. But in 

 whatever way they are grown, if they succeed, they will amply repay by their 

 beauty the trouble bestowed upon them. 



When grown in the greenhouse, they should be taken out of the pots, and 

 repotted in fresh soil about November, just before they commence growing. The 

 full-sized bulbs should be selected and potted from three to eight or ten in a pot, 

 according to the size of the bulbs, in a mixture of peat, loam, and sharp sand, 

 using plenty of drainers in the bottoms of the pots. Where increase is wanted, 

 the small bulbs may also be potted thicker, to form flowering bulbs for potting in 

 the ensuing autumn. After potting, settle the soil by a watering overhead with 

 a fine-rosed watering-pan. The best situation for them in the greenhouse from 

 November until they have done flowering in spring, is on a shelf placed against 

 the back wall, as high and as near the glass as possible, so as to allow sufficient 

 space for watering. They should be sparingly watered at first, the quantity 

 gradually increased as they begin to grow, but at no time ought water to be given 

 to excess. Abundance of air should be admitted every fine day. When they 

 have done flowering, the water ought to be diminished in quantity ; and as the 

 foliage decays, the pots may be brought down from the shelves, and placed in 

 any convenient situation, even under the stage of the greenhouse, light being of 

 no consequence during their dormant state, nor will they stand in need of any 

 water. Some growers take the bulbs out of the soil for a time, but such a 

 practice. is unnecessary, and by remaining in the pots the sorts are not so liable 

 to get mixed or lost. 



Some of the late-flowering species of Gladiolus and Watsonia, after being kept 

 in the greenhouse during winter, may be turned out into the border in May, 

 where they will flower longer, and much finer, more especially Gladiolus Cardinalis, 

 Natallensis, &c. ; when grown in pits or frames, the treatment will be similar, 

 keeping the pots always as near the glass as possible, and covering well during 



