Part 10 (1/2)

=WATSONIA.=--Although popularly called ”Bugle Lilies” the Watsonias really belong to the Iris family. They have fibrous-coated corms, stiffish, ribbed, sword-like leaves, and more or less funnel-shaped flowers. They are indigenous to South Africa, and may be grown in the open air under much the same conditions as Ixias, viz., warm, sheltered spots, and in light sandy soil. In the mildest parts of the kingdom the corms may be left in the ground during the winter, if necessary, but they should be protected in severe weather with litter, &c. In less favoured spots, it is safer to lift the corms in autumn when the leaves have withered, and store them in dry soil or sand until the spring.

The varieties depicted on Plate 27, figs. 99 to 101, show some of the most graceful kinds. _W. Meriana_, fig. 99 (also known as _Antholyza_) has several varieties including a scarlet one (_coccinea_), a white one (fig. 100), and a pink and white one (_rosea-alba_), which bear their blossoms during the summer months on stems 2 to 3 feet high. _W. rosea_ resembles a Gladiolus in appearance, and indeed was once known as _G.

pyramidatus_. It has several forms, including _angusta_, shown in the plate (fig. 101). Perhaps the most charming variety of all, however, is the beautiful _Ardernei_, the large pure white blossoms of which always attract attention owing to their purity and delicacy (Plate 26, fig.

96).

As a pot plant for conservatory decoration, _W. Ardernei_ is very valuable, owing to its graceful appearance. In the open air it requires warm, sheltered, and sunny positions, and a rich sandy soil.

=ZEPHYRANTHES= (_Zephyr Flower_).--Beautiful plants with small brown-coated bulbs about an inch in diameter, from which spring narrow leaves and rather large funnel-shaped flowers, only one, however, on each stem. There are only a few species that may be grown in the open air in the mildest parts of the kingdom. The soil cannot be too well drained, and should consist of a rich sandy loam, while the position should be the warmest and most sheltered in the garden. The kinds most likely to succeed are _Atamasco_, a native of the damp woods and fields of Virginia. The flowers shown on Plate 29, fig. 106, are at first pure white, but become tinted with pink or purple. _Z. candida_, the ”Swamp Lily” of La Plata, has pure white blossoms, as shown on Plate 32, fig.

114, as have also _Treatiae_ and _tubispatha_, while _carinata_ and _rosea_ both have rose-coloured flowers. The average height of these kinds is about a foot, and they may be increased from offsets or from seeds. At one time the Zephyr Flowers were grown in warm greenhouses, but experience has proved that they are much hardier than was at first supposed.

PLATE 32. TULBAGHIA VIOLACEA (113) ZEPHYRANTHES CANDIDA (114) CRINUM POWELLI ALb.u.m (115) LYCORIS SQUAMIGERA (116)

ENEMIES OF BULBOUS PLANTS.

Bulbous plants are subject to the attacks of various insect and fungoid pests in the same way as other plants are, and steps should be taken to free the plants from them whenever they appear, or to prevent them appearing at all.

It is easier to carry out the latter recommendation when insect enemies only are to be dreaded, but it is quite another matter with fungoid diseases, the presence of which is only revealed when they have reached the ”fruiting” or spore stage, and have already done a certain amount of mischief.

=Wireworms, Grubs, &c.=--When a soil is infested with any of these pests, the gardener may be almost sure to find his choicest roots or bulbs eaten by them. He should, therefore, take the precaution to have the ground turned up, if possible, some time before planting, so that these pests may be brought to the surface and exposed to the keen eyes of the ”birds in the air” who are always on the watch for any choice morsels that are likely to improve their voices.

It would not be safe, however, to trust altogether to the natural enemies of these pests who are usually endowed with keen powers for evading their attacks. It may be necessary, therefore, to lay traps of pieces of potato, carrot, parsnip, or any fleshy and enticing material in their haunts, and examine them regularly. A piece of stick thrust into these substances will make a convenient handle for lifting them up for examination. The best time of course to catch the enemy is when he is dining off his piece of potato, parsnip, or carrot. He and his friends should then be led forth for execution beneath the weight of the foot, or into a bucket of boiling water, or in any other way that the ingenious reader may devise. The main thing, however, to bear in mind is that the enemy must be _killed_ without mercy or remorse. And no matter how ruthlessly he is persecuted, it will be found each season that there are still some of his family left to carry on a guerilla warfare against the gardener and his plants. So that one must be really always on the watch for attack, and, like a wise general, be ready to meet it, or spoil it altogether.

Besides using traps of potatoes, carrots, &c., _nitrate of soda_ and _kainit_ have been found very useful for ridding the soil of these pests. About 2lbs. of nitrate of soda or kainit to a square rod (30-1/4 square yards) has been found an ample dressing. It should be distributed evenly over the surface of the soil, when the latter is in a moist--but not sodden--condition.

=Lime and Soot.=--Slugs and snails are great marauders among the young growths of bulbous and other plants, and may be kept in check by the use of nitrate of soda, and kainit, as well as by birds. These remedies may be supplemented, or even supplanted, by the use of lime and soot. These substances are always easy to obtain, and will be found of great use not only in keeping the garden free from insect pests, but also because of their manurial value.