THE HIPPEASTRUM. 



257 



and important species, introduced in 1814 from South Brazil. 

 It is figured in the Botanical Register, tab. 199, from flowers 

 obtained from W. Griffin's hothouses in South Lambeth, and it 

 is stated that the flowers were perhaps the most beautiful of 

 this splendid genus. In 1819 H. aulicum was introduced, and 

 also flowered in the South Lambeth garden of Mr. Griffin ; 

 H. solandriflorum about 1820 ; and as this, H. aulicum, and 

 all the species of any importance introduced at this time are well 

 figured in the Botanical Magazine or Register, or both, we have 

 full knowledge of their flowering, as well as the dates of their 

 introduction. We also know .from Dean Herbert's work (" The 

 AmaryllidaceaB ") that the first hybrid Hippeastrum raised in 

 England w T as Jolmsoni, or regio-vittatum ; it was raised in the 

 year 1810 by a person named Johnson, who had a small garden 

 in Lancashire, and he thought it was a cross between vittatum 

 and Sprekelia formosissima. Dean Herbert produced the same 

 plant by crossing vittatum with Begiim in 1811. It may be 

 interesting here to remark that Dean Herbert raised an immense 

 number of seedlings by careful hybridising from 1811, until his 

 death, in his gardens at Mitcham, Highclere, and Spofforth. 

 His hybrids were named by a union of the specific names of the 

 parents. Thus a hybrid between aulicum and vittatum was 

 named aulico -vittatum ; between reticulatum and Jolmsoni, 

 reticulato- Johns oni, &c, through a long series of crosses, 

 which are fully described at page 142 of the " Amaryllidacea3." 

 The name of Heer S. A. de Graaff, of Leyden, should be introduced 

 here as a raiser and cultivator of Hippeastrums. I am informed 

 by Heer de Graaff that this firm has cultivated Hippeastrums 

 since 1790 ; but only one species was known to be cultivated at 

 that early date, viz., vittatum. Later, when fulgidum and 

 crocatum were introduced, these were used as seed or pollen 

 bearers, with the seedlings from vittatum, Heer de Graaff says 

 in his note to me that his father crossed fulgidum, crocatum, 

 Johnsoni, and vittatum over and over amongst themselves, and 

 he obtained rich dark colours, but small flowers. The present 

 Heer de Graaff began working amongst them in 1862, and 

 obtained the best species and varieties with large flowers to 

 hybridise with, amongst them psittacinum. From the seed- 

 lings handed down to him by his father and granduncle he 

 obtained numerous remarkably fine forms, of all shades of 



