23G JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



beautiful bulbs ; a proceeding which might result in loss and 

 disappointment. I think, however, there may be many who 

 have surplus stock who would like to make a trial of this 

 method of Cape bulb culture, and again, there may be some — 

 indeed I know there are some who are now doing it — who 

 would like to grow them in the open ground, if possible, 

 but who either cannot, or do not care to give them space under 

 glass. 



But for the general culture of Cape bulbs in a manner in 

 which they may all be grown together with certainty, the cold 

 greenhouse is the best ; and as they prefer a dry rather than a 

 moist air in the house they occupy, there is no class of plants 

 better adapted for growing in conservatories, either in town or 

 country; indeed, so grown, they thrive far better than they do in 

 the warm plant-houses, in which too many of them meet their 

 end. 



Generally speaking, the Nerines and many other Cape bulbs 

 grow through the winter, and careful observation of their foliage 

 will give the grower a good guide as to his procedure in the 

 matter of giving water. As soon as the leaves turn yellow 

 (generally in May) water should be withheld from the deciduous 

 kinds, and not a drop given until the flower-spikes appear in the 

 end of the summer, or until, by the advancing growth of the 

 leaves, it is seen that water must be given. During the resting 

 season, if the atmosphere of the house in which the Nerines and 

 other deciduous Cape bulbs are grown cannot be kept dry and 

 airy, or if a shelf in a well-ventilated place cannot be found for 

 them, they had better be placed in a cold frame, with the lights 

 tilted back and front (but still left over them to keep rains off), 

 for abundance of air they must have, or degeneration and in- 

 ability to flower results. These remarks apply especially to 

 N. curvifolia and others grouped with it. N. flexuosa and its 

 hybrids"; N. angustifolia, N. pulchella, and their hybrids, par- 

 take more of an evergreen character, and require a shorter dry 

 period than the others. As requiring the same treatment as the 

 Nerines, should be mentioned the Hsemanthus, Brunsvigia, 

 Buphane, Hessea, and the Gastronema section of Cyrtanthus, 

 which appears to me to differ mainly from the Monella section 

 in the treatment they require by their being deciduous, and 

 consequently wanting a distinct dry season of rest. 



