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Tlie Hmiiculiurist and Journal 



simple plan is to place a number of bulbs in 

 boxes of soil to be treated the same as pots ; 

 boxes occupy much less room, but when 

 only required for greenhouse or room decora- 

 tions, pots are most useful, while glasses are 

 the neatest for rooms only, and require no 

 soil ; any lady can attend to them without 

 soiling her hands. Of late years there have 

 been very tasty hyacinth glasses manufactured, 

 which are great improvements on those for- 

 merly used. We place a small lump of 

 charcoal in each glass, it prevents the water 

 from becoming unpleasant, and the only other 

 attention required is to add a little more 

 water occasionally, for after the roots become 

 active, they absorb a considerable quantity. 

 A pinch of guano in each glass just before 

 the flowers open, adds to the size and color of 

 the bloom ; this is not desirable unless the 

 glass is opaque. The charcoal prevents any 

 unpleasant smell. When potting bulbs, use 

 six-inch pots for hyacinths, and place a single 

 bulb in centre of each pot with about a third 

 of the bulb above the level of the soil ; the 

 soil requires making quite firm in the pots ; 

 if this is not done the bulb will be often 

 lifted out of the pot when it commences to 

 root freely. Tulips are best potted fine bulbs 

 in from four to six-inch pots according to 

 the size of bulbs ; when a large quantity is 

 grown, it is a good plan to adopt the system 

 of the growers for the London market ; that 

 is, to place a number of bulbs of one variety 

 in shallow boxes, and to grow them in boxes 

 until the flower stem is considerably advanced, 

 then shake them carefully out and pot into 

 five-inch pots, selecting those equally advanced 

 to place together in a pot, and also in each 

 batch of pots for market, so that when seen 

 together in Covent Garden market, each pot 

 is the exact copy of its neighbor, so that no 

 selecting is required to pick out the most 

 advanced or the best bloomed pot full. This 

 is especially serviceable for market, for under 

 the best management it is usual to find some 

 bulbs in the same pot several days more 

 advanced than others, which gives the pots an 

 unequal appearance, especially early in the 

 season when the bulbs are forced forward in 



the heat ; the late ones, which come in flower 

 naturally in a low temperature, generally 

 open more equally. 



Crocuses are best grown in fancy pots or 

 pans ; the old-fashioned pot, shaped like hedge- 

 hog, is well enough ; the young buds peeping 

 through the holes representing the spine, or 

 where baskets may be used, the sides filled 

 with moss ; a half globe turned upside down 

 is very pretty for this purpose ; a moderate 

 sized basket is best, the plants being small and 

 dwarf. 



The pretty little blue Scillas are very use- 

 ful among forced bulbs, placed seven or eight 

 bulbs in a four-inch pot. The best soil for 

 potting bulbs is half loam and half rotten 

 manure, with enough gritty sand to keep it 

 open ; a pinch of soot is good over the drain- 

 age, being a good stimulant and preventing 

 worms from entering the pots. After potting 

 place the plants in a cold frame or the moist 

 part of a cellar, and cover with six inches of 

 coal ashes ; the pots will then get well tilled 

 with roots in a short time, and can be re- 

 moved to the greenhouse a few at a time as 

 required. 



Lift and pot sufficient plants of Deutzia 

 gracilis, Spirea Japonica, and a few plants 

 of Spirea palmata, which have been recom- 

 mended for forcing in the English gardening 

 periodicals. These plants can be kept in a 

 cold frame until required in the greenhouse, 

 and although hardy, cannot be lifted from the 

 open ground when frozen. 



If any tuberoses which have not flowered 

 remain in the ground, they must at once be 

 taken up, dried and placed in a warm position 

 for next year's flowering ; any place which 

 preserves Caladium bulbs well, is good for 

 keeping tuberoses through the winter. 



Caladiums should now be generally at 

 rest ; if any late plants are still growing, with- 

 hold water to induce them to die down ^s soon 

 as possible ; it is a mistake to allow these 

 plants to continue growing late in the winter, 

 the bulbs are subject to rot, and if not, they 

 start weak the following year; the pots can 

 be set av,ray in a place where the temperature 

 does not fall below sixty, but not to be 



