30 
THYSANOTUS PROLIFERUS. 
nearly always leads to disappointmeiit ; and so, by keeping these species in a hot- 
house, indulgently but most erroneously affording tliem a large quantity of water, 
and wholly overrating their necessities, irremediable detriment is usually engendered. 
It will be admitted, on reflection, that not only species of Thysanotus^ but many 
more beautiful plants are thus often sacrificed, while the simple remedy of waiting 
on rather than forcing nature is yet almost universally unheeded. 
T. proliferus was forwarded to England from the Swan River colony, about 
the year 1837, and appears first to have displayed its handsome blossoms in the 
garden of Robert Mangles, Esq., Sunning Hill, Berks. "We primarily met with it 
at Mr. Low's, Clapton, whence, from a plant which bloomed in June 1839, our 
figure was taken. Its specific name has been most felicitously chosen, for no plant 
can be more prolific of flowers. The specimen above alluded to produced from 
twenty to thirty flower-scapes, with between twelve and twenty blooms on each, 
besides numerous nascent buds. There are usually three or four flowers expanded 
at once on each scape, but they are only opened when the sun is shining. 
The best mode of cultivation is to place the plants in pots of a size proportioned 
to their extent, (never, however, allowing too much pot-room,) and a soil of which 
light loam should be the principal constituent, fibrous heath-soil and sand com- 
pleting the compost. As is clearly demonstrated by the circumstances under 
which their blossoms unclose, and the mouldiness which sometimes occurs in both 
these and the leaves, they delight in an arid atmosphere, and, during winter, a dry 
soil. In summer they may be watered more freely. A thorough exposure to 
light is also beneficial. Where convenient, they may be planted in the bed of a 
small frame or pit, as they will grow more rapidly in such a position, but vigorous 
efi'orts must be made to exclude frost and damp in the winter. 
They are propagated by dividing the roots in the spring months, and merely 
planting each division in a separate pot. When seeds are ripened, they should be 
sown immediately, potting the young plants and placing them on a dry airy shelf 
before winter commences. 
The derivation of the generic name is given in vol. vi. p. 244. The specific 
title, as already hinted, indicates the extreme abundance in which the flowers are 
borne. 
