170 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



a portion i)f the lawn not seen from the mansion, a vista 

 Hanked with narcissi makes a \ery pretty sis^ht. Take 

 the ohl roeliciis ornatus. or a.ny of the larger llowering 

 varietie,s and they will add beauty during the early Spring- 

 months. The narcissi and crocuses seem to be in their 

 natural home in these places but not so wit!^ the hyacinths. 

 The tidips and irises are in a utility class. Should it be 

 intended to leave bulbs so planted more than one season 

 care must be taken to insure a tinisliing of the bulbs 

 by letting them make their natural growth of foliage. 

 This must not be removed b} cutting until it shows signs 

 of relaxing- and decay, typifying- a finished growth. The 

 longer this remains intact with the bulb the better the 

 flower will be the next season. In fact if it can be left 

 to decay away on the bulb it is benelicial to it. When 

 ]>lanling- in forn-ial beds, particularly tulips, due consid- 

 eration must be given to the height at llowering time. 

 .All varieties listed will show the height and if followed 

 will be of great assistance in getting- the required effect. 

 This is not so particular with other things as with the 

 tulips, but a thirty-five inch Darwiii will certainly look 

 out of place on the edge of a herbaceous border. Placed 

 further in tlie rear they will have a very jileasing effect. 



The Season 



Snowdrops are the first of the bulbs to n-iake their 

 appearance and also their flowers. \\'hen a boy, I 

 searched for the tiny tips of the snowdrop's growth 

 amongst the melting snow in sheltered places on the edge 

 of many evergreei-is. I'his to me w-as the first sign of 

 Spring. Following- the snowdrops come the crocuses 

 with their many brilliant colors. Following these we 

 have early flowering tulips and hyacinths, narcissi and 

 late flowering tulips which will cover a flowering period 

 to the end of i^lay. 



Varieties and colors. — When we look throtig"h any bulb 

 catalog and note the different classes of tulijjs, early 

 flowering, both single and double, Darwins, Cottage, 

 Dutch Breeders with the maze of color they represent 

 we have quite a study before us to i-i-iake a selection of 

 such varieties which are best adapted to our particular 

 purpose. The color scheme and season of flowering will 

 have to be the chief factors in determining what varieties 

 to order. 1 lyacinths give us an abuncbnce of color but 

 the season is not so extended nor do we have so many 

 classes to select from. The Roman hyacinths are not 

 adapted to outside culture. Narcissi give us a wider 

 range of type but not so much in color as the tulips. We 

 have the hardy Na)-cissiis poetac in several varieties and 

 Narcissus poclictts likewise in four or five varieties. 

 These are a very distinct class as the petals are white 

 forming the major portion of the flower, the trumpet 

 being negligible. The jonciuils are the smallest of the 

 truni])et varieties and are only used for niass planting in 

 the wild garden or shrubl)ery. The most n-iagnificent 

 things to be found among narcissi are the giant trumjjets: 

 ['Impress, iCmperor. (iolden Spur, and the newer King 

 Alfred is always gorgeous. Then we have the medium 

 trumpet class, signifying as it does that the trunipet por- 

 tion of the flower is smaller than the giants. This is 

 oftentimes made up by a variation in color of the peri- 

 anth. These are now classed under three groups, viz.: 

 Ilarrii, Lccclsii and fiicoiitpainhilis. which denotes the 

 length of crown or trumjK^l and color of ])etals. Doiflilc 

 narcissi can be liarl in such v;irieties as Von Sion and 

 Albo plcno, the latter being nicely scented. Dutch or 

 Spanish Irises are Ijest used for cutting ])ur])oses, planted 

 in such positions as will all<iw them to be cut when 

 needed. These compete with the Schi::anlhus for the 

 "Poor Man's Orchid" and I think they arc entitled to 

 win out as they more closely resemble the orchifl in shape 



and have as much color. We often see the colors nm- 

 niug togetlicr in an individual flower very similar to 

 many C'attle-sas. They are listed in separate colors, the 

 predominating color, hul if ;i mixed color is \\;inled for 

 a vase or cut flowers these irises will suppl_\ it. 



l')i-i,r.s i-(ik b'okcixc;. 



.\11 bulbs will respond to forcing. Some can only be 

 brought into flower a few weeks ahead of the normal 

 flowering- season, but others will respond to heat and 

 moisture and flower at any tlesired season. Some varie- 

 ties respond much more easily than others and should lie 

 u.sed for the earliest flowers. I'aper White lead the nar- 

 cissi. Roman hyacinths lead the hyacinths. Among tulips 

 use the early singles. The old Mon Tresor will be found 

 to stand as much pushing as any of them, det the bulbs 

 iiTtended for early forcing ]>olted up as soon as possible, 

 using a good rich, fairly heavy soil, if same is easily ob- 

 tainable or any good sweet .soil. While it is not possible 

 to put them as ctee]3 in the ])ot, pan or flat as can be done 

 in the open ground they should have the bulb covered 

 with soil. When ])otted plunge the pot, jian or flat, 

 whichever is used, into six or eight inches of sand or 

 sifted coal ashes. I believe it is better to plunge the 

 earliest patches deeper than this as they will not feel 

 the heat so mucii. The plunging or complete covering of 

 the bulbs is to retard top growth and prot-note root action 

 by keeping them cool and moist. Here is the .secret of 

 forcing bulbs : Get the root first and the top will come 

 without any difficulty. If you try to force any kind of 

 bulb only half-rooted the result will be verj' disappointing. 

 When rooted they can be taken out of the sand and if 

 they are not all needed soi-ne can be held in a cool house 

 for several weeks. There is a limit to the time that they 

 can be left in the .^^and, as they will try to push up when 

 the roots reach a certain stage. They, ought to be ix- 

 amined periodically and taken out as soon as any toj) 

 growth is noted. .\t no time does it pay to give bulbs a 

 great heat as they are all cool subjects. At night 55 de- 

 grees will give the best flowers. Where quality has to be 

 sacrificed for earliness this can be increased. Romans 

 and Paper Whites will stand more heat for a time bui 

 should be allowed time to harden up in a cooler housi' 

 to stiffen the stems before they are cut. Hyacinths if 

 subjected to excessive heat will have a very wesik stem 

 and fall over without the support of a stake. Darwin 

 tulips and irises should be the last to be brought intn 

 flower, preceding those grown outside by a few weeks. 

 During the whole growing .season all bulbs like an abund- 

 ance of water, .\lanv are grown in special glass jars or 

 vases by amater.rs in water alone. ( )tliers are grown in 

 bowls filled with pebbles and water, the roots working in 

 among them. Tlie l;irge flowerii-ig h\-acintlis and nar- 

 cissi are best adajitcd to this work. I'or those growing 

 in the soil. lif|uid manure a])i)lied when the flowers are 

 raising will hclji thcni along, but it is not advisable to 

 use fertilizer oi any kind. Li(|uid cow or sheej) manure 

 is best ad.npted to them. Keep a moist atmos]>here around 

 them and ;i good bulb will ]ini(hue ihe be^l in flowers. 

 When .-lUN one wishes to ^ei the nia^iniuni in llowers 

 from -niv bifllis the best bull)> that i-;iu be bought will be 

 none too good. ( )rder early which will be api>reciated 

 bv the seedman and von will not be disappointed vour- 

 self. 



Nothing is easier than fault-finding. .\o talent, n<i 

 self-denial, no brains, no character, is reciuired to set up 

 in the grun-ibling business. I'.ut those who are moved by 

 a genuine desire to do good \v.\\v little time for ininnnn-- 

 ing or ciinipl;iint. Koiii-.i<|- West. 



