THE LADIES’ MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 
73 
some bulbs that were a little out of the ordinary routine. I first pro¬ 
cured some of the Cape Crinum. This will probably surprise your 
readers, as most persons are accustomed to look upon the Crinum as a 
stove plant. I had, however, a border just in front of the windows of 
the room in which I usually sifc, sloping to the south, and in this I 
planted my bulbs. The soil is a fine sandy loam, and the ground is well 
drained, by a quantity of rubbish having been thrown into the bottom 
when the house was built. In this border my bulbs throve surprisingly. 
I had the common pale pink Cape Crinum, with a variety, the flowers of 
which were nearly white; others were dark crimson, and one nearly 
purple, while the fragrance from the bed was delightful. Every one who 
called upon me was delighted with my flowers, and everybody was 
wondering what they could be, as they had the appearance of rare and 
beautiful lilies. 
The success of my first experiment induced me to try others; and I 
grew several of the most beautiful kinds of Gladiolus with great success. 
I then tried also with success a bed of Zephyranthes Candida, the white 
Peruvian lily, the silvery flowers of which on the banks of the Rio de la 
Plata not only gave that name to the river, but have now, by implication, 
given its name to the Argentine (Silvery) Republic. I next turned my 
attention to common flowers; and I have now above a hundred and fifty 
named kinds of Narcissus, and about fifty kinds of Ornithogalum, all much 
handsomer than the kinds generally grown. 
The greatest difficulty I have had to contend with in making these 
experiments, is procuring the plants, as few seedsmen (naturally enough) 
keep any but those for which there is a constant demand. No doubt, 
however, in this, as in most other cases, a demand would create a supply ; 
and indeed I see in the catalogue lately published by Carter, Holborn, a 
nuihber of names that I do not recollect ever seeing in a bulb catalogue 
before. Unfortunately, however, I do not live in London, and therefore 
I am not able to avail myself of the advantages accessible to those 
who do. 
I hope that wffiat I have said may turn the attention of some of your 
readers to the subject, as I have no doubt the selection of perennial plants 
in gardens might be improved quite as much as that of bulbs. 
Weston, near Bath, 
January 16 th, 1841. 
$ 
VOL. I.—NO. III. 
L 
