December 10, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
491 
year is done, for soon it shall be said of this little beauty in the 
words of Shakespeare— 
“ Death lies on her like an untimely frost 
Upon the sweetest flower of the field.” 
—S. Arnott. 
PANCRATIUM FRAG RAN 3. 
This beautiful West Indian bulbous plant seldom meets with 
•the attention it deserves. Though its floral segments are not so long 
.as those of some of the other species, its fragrance and the ease with 
which it is grown renders it one of the most useful of the genus. 
Seldom do we find any attempts being made to propagate it in 
private establishments, the stock being generally limited to one, 
or at most to a few bought plants. It is propagated readily 
by offsets, also by seed. The former may be pulled away from 
the parent plant with a few roots attached, the better way being 
to shake the plant clear of the soil, when the young bulbs may 
be removed intact. An occasional shake out in this manner is 
beneficial to the old bulbs, and allows of their being placed in 
smaller pots. 
For potting a compost of fibrous lumpy loam and peat in equal 
parts, with sufficient coarse sand to make the whole porous, suits 
them. It is not desirable to use manure in potting or to employ 
stimulants after, except in the case of old and well established 
plants whose pots often contain more roots than soil. These latter 
would be better for a little liquid manure or clear soot water once 
or twice a week during the period of growth. Being a native of a 
tropical climate it requires stove temperature during the spring and 
Rummer when growth is active. During those seasons it should be 
afforded plenty of water at the roots. As the year declines less 
water should be afforded, and where practicable be removed to 
cooler quarters, a Cattleya house temperature being the best where 
it can be given. 
It must not be forgotten that this Pancratium is an evergreen, 
and should therefore never be allowed to become quite dry, distress 
from this cause being evident by the flagging of the leaves. In 
Cattleya temperature they require very little water during winter, 
and if examined once a week there need be no anxiety on their 
account. March is the best time to remove the side bulbs, when 
both young and old plants should be removed to the stove or other 
•equally warm house. The latter flowering in May or early in June 
if not shaken. Those plants from which all soil is removed require 
at least a month longer to flower than those left undisturbed. For 
decorative purposes this Pancratium is excelled by no bulbous 
plant, though many are better understood and cared for.— 
W. R. Williams, Gt. Marlow. 
CRINUM AMABILE, Don. 
CRINUM SUPERBUM, Roxb. 
We have pleasure in offering you for publication a photo of 
Crinum amabile, Don , which, it is said, is one of the largest plants 
£n Europe, and is well grown in one of the stoves of Messrs. 
Ant. Roozen & Son at Overveen, near Haarlem. The plant itself 
is, even without flowers, a picture of health and beauty ; but in 
flower it is most lovely. It is about 2^ yards in diameter, the 
leaves are 4 feet loDg and 5 inches broad, lorate, tapering gradually 
to a point. The flower stalk or scape is 3 feet long, with an 
umbel of thirty to thirty-five flowers, which are very fragrant. The 
colour is white suffused with crimson, dark purple beneath. The 
perianth tube is bright red, cylindrical, 3 to 4 inches long ; the 
•segments the same length, spreading or revolute ; tbe stamens 1 inch 
shorter than the segments. The bracts are 8 inches long and 7 inches 
broad ; the circumference of the stem (neck of the bulb) is 
Ifi inches, and the height above the tub 48 inches. 
Like most other species, Crinum amabile being from Sumatra, 
likes a stove temperature with plenty of light and water. Some 
of them prefer a rest in winter time, but as far as I. know C. 
amabile does not require that, at least the plant of which I speak, 
at Messrs. Ant. Roozen & Sons’ nursery, never has any rest. All 
the Crinums can be raised from seed, but I never saw any seed 
•on C. amabile. I have often tried to fertilise this, but never 
with any success. The propagation is effected by means of offsets 
and is very slow ; when the offsets have attained sufficient size take 
them off, and grow them separately. We do that at any time. 
Last year this beautiful plant flowered four times, in January, May, 
August, and November. There is a figure of it in the “ Botanical 
Magazine,” tab. 1G05.—J. K. Budde, Haarlem, Holland. 
[The necessary reduction of the large photo for engraving could 
•not do justice to the stately plant in question.] 
CONFERENCE PEAR. 
A correspondent sends us what he calls a “ picture ” of this Pear, 
and asks if “ all the fruits are like it ?” He can judge for himself from 
our engraving of a typical specimen. The following is the description 
of this Pear:—Fruit oblong pyriform, from 4 to 4J inches long, rather 
uneven on the surface,- being somewhat undulating and bossed. Skin 
entirely covered with cinnamon coloured russet, through which the 
yellow ground colour appears in freckles; stalk long, stout and curved, 
inserted in a small round cavity ; eye open, set in a slight depression ; 
flesh buttery and smooth in texture, salmon-tinted throughout, and 
richly flavoured. In use during the end of October and beginning of 
November. 
This is a seedling raised by Mr. Rivers of S ^wbridgeworth, to whom 
FIG. 90.— CONFERENCE PEAR. 
we are indebted for specimens of the fruit from which our figure was 
taken. The tree is very hardy, and a great bearer. As an orchard fruit 
it is a valuable acquisition, and will be much in request as a market 
Pear. It received the name of “Conference” from obtaining a first- 
class certificate at the Pear Conference held at Chiswick in 1885. 
SIXTY YEARS OF HORTICULTURAL PROGRESS. 
(1760—1820). 
( Continued from page 301 ) 
Now and then in our perambulations we come across a fairly 
preserved good old greenhouse of the reign of George III., and 
when we survey such a relic we wonder how it was that in those 
days gardeners succeeded as well as they did. Any sort of glass 
seems to have been thought quite good enough to glaze a hot¬ 
house with, and many of them were covered by small panes of 
green glass of the commonest kind ; also, for the sake of cheapness, 
