252 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



In the course of our experiments it was another desirable 

 point to diminish as far as possible the green central rays that 

 are objectionable from a florist's point of view, and how far we 

 have succeeded the splendid flowers now before you will show. 

 Then, again, the irregularity of the lowermost segment has 

 always been looked upon as a defect, but one which is inherent 

 in the ancestral forms ; and although it may never be entirely 

 obliterated, yet much improvement in that direction has been 

 effected, as may be seen in some of the flowers exhibited to- 

 day. Another fine race has been obtained by crossing the best 

 Leopoldi forms with reticulatum, which has resulted in the pro- 

 duction of a beautiful series of autumn and winter flowering 

 varieties, of which the finest of the first raised progeny is known 

 under the name of Autumn Beauty, while from a subsequent 

 cross we raised Favourite and Edith M. Wynne. Other fine 

 late-flowering varieties of the reticulatum type, in which Lcopoldi 

 did not participate in the parentage, are named Mrs. Garfield 

 and Mrs. Lee. 



Comparing the latest acquisitions with the original species in 

 respect of size, we find that the flowers of the latter range from 

 2^ to 5 inches in diameter, with segments from f to 1\ inch 

 broad, and with tubes 3 to 4 inches long ; that of solandriflorum 

 7 to 8 inches long. Our best recent types have a diameter of 

 9 to 11 inches, with segments 3^ to 4 inches broad, and the tube 

 almost obsolete. As regards colour, scarlet and red prevail in 

 some of the natural species ; crimson-scarlet veins, streaks and 

 reticulations in others, and all with a larger or smaller green 

 centre. Besides these, solandriflorum and cahjptratum are 

 greenish white ; but the last named has not been used of late for 

 hybridising. We have now an uninterrupted range of colour from 

 deep maroon-crimson through crimson, crimson-scarlet, pure 

 scarlet, orange-scarlet, carmine, rose and rose-pink, to almost 

 pure white, with striped and reticulated forms of all these shades 

 of colour. 



To remove any misapprehensions, if such exist, respecting 

 the facility with which the Hippeastrum (i.e., the Amaryllis) may 

 be cultivated, I will now formulate the cultural routine followed 

 by us, and under which failures are practically unknown. 



Soil. — The compost should consist of two-thirds good fibrous 

 loam, such as is used for vines, and one-third cow manure fresh 



