177 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 21, 1858. 
seedlings were three or four inches long ; and both the 
pots, with the balls entire, were turned out, and planted 
in a very light, free, deep border—an useless precaution, 
as nine inches deep answer just as well for the bulbs. 
They were watered every day through the summer, and 
examined at the roots once a-week. In September, a few 
of them made flowering shoots, and bloomed nicely. But, 
just before they opened a flower, a new move took place 
beneath the surface. Henceforward, to the end of Oc¬ 
tober, there was a daily examination of the new move, 
and a prettier sight was never witnessed in the growth 
of a plant. Five or six white points, sharp as needles, 
issued simultaneously from the side of each little bulb, a 
little above the roots. Each point kept rising and ex¬ 
tending sideways, and, at three-quarters of an inch in 
length, each made a stop of two days. On the third day, 
I could see progress from a joint, exactly as we see on a 
large scale in the Strawberry runner. At an inch from 
the joint, another stop of shorter duration, and a second 
joint; then a third joint of the same length. At this 
stage, the first length began to get clothed with scale-like 
bodies—an imitation of sessile leaves—underground. By 
the end of October, the sixth joint was made, and all 
were furnished with scales, and the point gaining daylight 
on the surface. Three weeks after that, each sucker, or 
runner, was above ground, and looking like a seedling. 
The last joint beneath the surface beginning to swell at 
this stage, a few of them were cut below the last joint, 
and planted close to a wall, where they were glassed 
over, and carefully protected and examined through the 
winter. But they made little progress, either below or 
above ground, till the warm weather at the end of April. 
After then they grew rapidly, and bloomed this autumn. 
It was thus made sufficiently clear, that there is no rest 
for this plant. The two balls were lifted entire, and 
put into 12-pots, with some hundreds of these runners 
hanging out all round the ball, and very few roots indeed, 
and those almost as fine as Rhododendron roots. 
The orders were, that these plants must be kept grow¬ 
ing all the winter. They were so; and at the end of 
April one of them was turned out from the cold pit, with 
Japan Lilies, and both kinds were half plunged, and had 
the same treatment the whole time, out in the open air. 
The Lilies began to bloom three weeks before the 
Tritonias ; but the Tritonias lasted in the conservatory 
till now, and they are not quite over yet. The second 
pot was set apart, in April, for another season’s experi¬ 
ments : some roots were taken from it in May, to be 
potted, and some to be planted singly ; some to be kept 
growing, as in the first year ; and some to be left to dry, 
after blooming, as is usually done. Ten degrees of frost 
merely pinched the leaves, but fifteen degrees com¬ 
pletely killed them down to the surface. The big ball 
was then lifted, and every bulb in it, young or old, had 
long strings of these jointed runners, none of which had 
the frost reached. The whole ball was now separated 
into single bulbs, each with four, five, or more, runners, 
carefully preserved. Most of these were planted in 
shallow boxes, only four inches deep, and ouly round the 
sides and ends, with the runners running inwards. Then 
the whole looked like so many Lilies of the Valley, fresh 
set, without being covered. But these will lose three 
months’ growth now by having the old leaves killed. 
I put three dozens of them into a box, and took them 
to Kew, to Mr. Craig, the flower-gardener there. In ten 
words I told him all that you know of them now, adding, 
—In’ o ono need ever grow these bulbs in pots again: they 
will do better in shallow broad pans, like Achimenes, as 
the roots are few and fine, and waSit space for their 
travelling runners. As long as they 'would look healthy, 
and bloom well, in these pans, I would not think of turn¬ 
ing them out, or dividing them. When they are planted 
out, to remain for good in the open air, I would have 
coal ashes, or some such covering, over the ground, to 
keep the frost from the young runners, for they are the 
means by which the bulbs increase so fast. Each of 
them, and, I believe, each joint of each runner, will make 
a plant and offset bulbs; but of that I am not quite sure 
yet. The dried roots made no increase. I). Beaton. 
MAKING THE MOST OF CONVENIENCES. 
CUCUMBERS, MELONS, POTATOES, AND FLOWERS IN MAY. 
“ I very much want your advice on appoint or two ; but, before 
I put any questions, let me tell you what conveniences I have. 
First, a small stove (Hue-heated), twenty-two feet by twelve feet; 
second, a span-roof greenhouse, twenty-seven feet by eighteen feet; 
third, two three-light frames, one single, two boxes without 
sashes, and a brick pit (span-roof), about twenty feet by six feet, 
heated by the return flue of my greenhouse. 
“ I have a very good collection of Fuchsias and Geraniums— 
at least, I enclose my list, and shall be glad of your opinion on it. 
I have, also, the germ of a good collection of Ferns, besides 
Azaleas, Cinerarias, pot Roses, Achimenes, Gloxineas, &c. An 
anticipated wedding makes me anxious to have as many nice 
things as I can early in May. My Fuchsias, Geraniums, and 
pot Roses,—at least, the best of them,—should not be ready 
before our local exhibition in July ; but for the rest, how must I 
act ? Likewise, if possible, I wish to have some forced Potatoes, 
Cucumbers, and Melons, by the time I mention. How must I 
manage ? Could I manage the Potatoes in the unglazed boxes, 
covering them with straw hurdles ? or would you attempt them 
in one of the tliree-light frames ? or in one of the divisions of the 
brick pit ? Where, too, would you place the Melons and Cucum¬ 
bers ? I should say, stable-dung and tan are no object: of both 
we can have as much as we want.”—M. A. 
The depth or height of these separate structures is 
not given—a matter of some importance, more especially 
as we are informed that there will be no want of plenty 
of dung and tan. Neither are we informed if any part 
of the stove could be used for forcing purposes—also a 
matter of some moment, as is likewise its structure, as to 
platforms or conveniences. I will suppose that it is not 
desirable to use too much fire heat, for the sake of plants 
growing in it, until, at least, the days lengthen consider¬ 
ably, in February or March. I almost fear to give advice 
to a person of such experience, and especially when he 
has such a second edition of the “ Doctor’s Boy ” for 
an assistant. Many other readers may not be equally 
experienced, and they may be benefited by a short outline 
of how I would act in such circumstances, whilst our 
“ M. A.” may lose nothing by comparing our ideas with 
his own, the former being merely the recollections of 
previous practice in similar circumstances. 
The first thing, then, to which our attention would be 
immediately directed, would be the one-light box. As 
heating material is abundant, I would not spare it, but 
would have as much dung thrown together and properly 
sweetened, as would make a bed three feet high at back, 
and two feet and a half in front, and so long and wide 
that there would be eighteen inches of bed ali round the 
frame. Twelve inches, at least, of the top of this bed, 
might, with great propriety, be well-sweetened, heated 
tan ; and if that is sweet, there will be less danger from 
the dung below it not being so perfectly sweetened. 
Such a bed set about now, will be fit for sowing in, at 
farthest, by the first of January, or shortly afterwards. 
Here I would sow the Cucumbers and Melons that are 
esteemed the most, but rather avoiding the larger-sized 
of the latter : the Victory of Bath and the Golden Ball 
are generally esteemed, and ripen early, though not so 
early as the Cantaloups; but few will eat them now. Of 
course, such a bed will require covering well at night; 
and if there is a waterproof material to go over all, and 
a contrivance to take the water from the front, that 
| falls on the glass, the inside will be kept all the more 
j comfortable and warm. Keep the seed-pots near the glass 
after germination has taken place, and pot off singly into 
small pots, as soon as the first rough leaf appears, keep- 
| ing the plants at no great distance from the glass. Give 
