1878.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



331 



but inasmuch as, at this time especially, thou- 

 sands of people, are anxious to make home beau- 

 tiful, if the}^ may do so without great expense 

 and with tlieir own liands, wc believe it better to 



do so by such means as those here described, 

 ■which may be made into true art-work, if care- 

 fully accomplished. 



[With this we give the last of Mrs. -Jones' very 

 suggestive series, with a few more of Mr. Glea- 

 son's designs, and are sure all interested in 

 tasteful home decoration will have perused the 

 ladj''s letters with much profit. — Ed. G. M.] 



HYACINTH CULTURE. 



BY MR. M. W. CAT^DWELX, QUERYS TURN-OUT, 

 MECKLENBURG, N. C. 



The time has arrived for those who expect to 

 have flow^ers from hardy bulbs in Spring to look 

 around for their bullis in time for Fall planting. 

 And as I have already offered my experience in 

 their culture, it is seasonable to send it. South- 

 ern readers know that old Meckleaiburg County, 

 in Korth Carolina, does not lie among the moun- 

 tains, but that it is a fine cotton growing section, 

 and that every vegetable known to the tempe- 

 rate zone can be raised with more or less suc- 

 cess there, and a great variety of soil is to be 

 found within its borders. The grounds we cul- 

 tivate as our "flow^er garden" is of a gravelly or 

 rocky nature, a yellowish pipe-clay lying under- 

 neath from six to fifteen inches deep, more or 

 less. The land slopes to the south-east ; when 

 new" or fertilized it produces good crops of any 

 of the kinds cultivated in this section, including 

 Cotton, Corn, Wheat, Oats, Rye, sweet and Irish 

 Potatoes and all kinds of garden vegetables. 



As regards Hyacinths, my experience in raising 

 them teaches me tii'st, to make tlie ground rich. 

 I use a spading fork to dig the ground ; I have 

 not gone lower than twelve inches, because of 

 the presence of pipe-clay. I throw up the earth 

 in beds about four or five feet wide, elevated five 

 or six inches, with three feet space betw'een and 

 of any length desired, and plant ])ull)S five or six 

 inches deep. I plant from the middle of October 

 till the last of Xovember, any time that suits me. 

 I never w^ork ground wet. Plant the bulbs about 



tw^elve inches apart, less will do, in the rows 

 both ways ; cover beds with any kind of good,, 

 well rotted manure one or two inches deep ; clean 

 out the walk between rows nicely, and the work 

 is done. I have never put any kind of mulching- 

 on the beds that requires removing in Spring, and 

 simply break the crust on the ground between 

 the plants after they begin to come up, and then 

 keep all weeds down. I do not think covering- 

 with straw, leaves or unrotted manure in Win- 

 ter, to be taken off in Spring, is at all necessary 

 in the South. I take up the bulb as soon as the 

 leaves are yellow, last Spring this being on the- 

 10th of May. 1 think any one who expects to 

 have fine Hyacinth bulbs and blooms must put 

 the ground in good condition and never leave 

 the bulbs in the ground all Summer, nor plant, 

 in a grassy border to remain from year to year. 

 I remove all the little bulbs from the old one 

 and plant them the same as the large ones. In 

 two years they will make good bulbs, a large 

 one sometimes throws up from three to five 

 flow^ering spikes. The red kinds seem to be 

 inclined in this way more than other kinds, and 

 the single more than the double. Tulips I treat 

 the same as H3'acinths, except that I do not plant 

 more than three or four inches deep. Any one 

 purchasing bulbs expecting to realize a fine dis- 

 play without attention, only subjects him or her- 

 self to a cruel disappointment. I do not raise 

 bulbs and seeds for sale, only for home enjoy- 

 ment and to give away. I have about one bushel 

 of Hyacinth bulbs. I have bought of Vick^ 

 H. A. Dreer, Moulson & Sons, and many others. 



I think that all disappointment in realizing 

 our expectations in bulb-culture in the Southern 

 States I'ests upon the theory of poor culture, or 

 rather the want of thorough preparation before 

 planting. I can hardly perceive how any one 

 could fail to receive value for proper attention. 

 Among the wrong practices is leaving the bulbs 

 in the ground from year to 3'ear. I take thenk 

 up as soon as they are ripe and dry them a few 

 days in the shade, then strip off their tops and 

 lay them away in a cool, dry place till needed. 



[Our readers will remember that these excel- 

 lent notes from practical experience come from, 

 the correspondent who sent us the wonderfully 

 fine rtowers last Spring. — Ed. G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Victoria Lily. — The California Hor- 

 ticulturist says : " We are soon to have the 



