September 23, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



263 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day Day 



of I of 

 Month Week. 



23 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 



Th 



P 



S 



Son 



M 



To 



W 



SEPTEMBKR 23—29, 1875. 



Aberdeen Show. 

 Length of day 12h. Im. 

 Twiliaht ends at 7. 17 p m. 

 18 Sunday after Trinity. 



Budbeck died, 1702. 

 Alexandra Palace Potato Show. 



Snn 



Sets. 



Moon 

 Rises. 



m. h. m. h. 



55 at 5 57 a( 1 



morn. 

 21 



46 



m. h. 

 62 at 8 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Days. 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 

 29 

 O 



Clock 

 after 

 Son. 



m. B. 



7 40 



8 1 



8 21 

 4 42 



9 2 

 9 22 

 9 42 



Day 



of 



Year. 



266 

 267 

 268 

 269 

 270 

 271 

 272 



44.1°. 



From observations taken near London dnring forty-three years, the average day temperature o( the week is 65.7'; and its night temperature 



PLANTS FOK CUT FLOWERS AND SPRAYS. 



No. 2. 



jfY^^^S" OR pui'ity of colour, sweetness, and useful- 

 mfmW^ ness for cutting from, the "Lilies" (which 

 appears iu ancient phraseology to be syno- 

 nymous with the modern term " bulBs ") 

 must take a foremost position ; and for fit- 

 ness the rare, rich, gorgeous, or beautiful 

 Orchids must pale into insignificance, as 

 they, charming though they may be, arc not 

 within the reach of more than a few of the 

 cut-flower-liking class ; but bulbs are within 

 the command of all, and from this fact alone are deserv- 

 ing of first rank in any notes to aid in meeting a demand 

 for cut flowers, inasmuch as among bulbs are some of the 

 most useful for the purpose, and some of which will suit 

 the means and requiiements of all. 



Some bulbs are hardy, the season of which is prolonged 

 by the adaptability of many for forcing, and others are 

 tender, requiring heat, which is all the claim many, and 

 I must say most, i^lants have in general acceptation to 

 be choice and rare. A value is put upon some subjects 

 not from any merit, but from the cost entailed in theu' 

 production. This is not taste, it is not other than setting 

 it aside, knowing the prevailing love for uncommon things ; 

 and in this way many equally beautiful and not less 

 suitable subjects are looked down upon, if not rejected 

 altogether, because common. I am forced to this expo- 

 sition because I shall have occasion to bring before my 

 readers some of the most common of plants, of which 

 the fitness for cutting are unprejudiced by vulgarity or 

 coarseness. 



The first plant that I will name is the Rom.\n Hyacinth, 

 single white, the flowers of which are dehcately scented 

 and profusely produced, each bulb sending up often (not 

 always) three or four spikes of pure white flowers._ It 

 may be potted early in September, three bulbs in a .5-inch 

 or five in 6-inch pots in turfy loam, with a fourth of well- 

 rotted manure, and plunged in ashes in a cold frame, 

 covering the bulbs or pots over with about 4 inches thick- 

 ness of the same material, and left there till early in 

 October, when they may be removed to the shelves of a 

 greenhouse, where they will flower at the close of Novem- 

 ber or early in December; or they may be had early in 

 November by forwarding in a light airy position in a warm 

 greenhouse. I find if the pots and bulbs are not buried 

 that when the roots are being emitted the bulbs are lifted, 

 or some of them, which the burying material from the 

 pressure upon the bulbs prevents. Bulbs potted about the 

 middle of September and plunged outdoors for a month, 

 then introduced to a greenhouse, will bloom early, or by 

 the middle of December ; and bulbs potted the end of 

 September will, if not subjected to a higher temperature 

 than an ordinary greenhouse, flower at Christmas and 

 the new year. Too much cannot be said in praise of this 

 beautiful and extremely valuable plant. It should be 

 grown extensively where early flowers for cutting or plants 

 for decorative pxarposes are in demand. 



Ko. 756.-VOL. XXIX , New SnniEs. 



To succeed the Roman Hyacinth the Parisian Hyacinth 

 is very useful, and potted, say a batch early in September 

 and another at its close, and treated in the same way — 

 i.e., plunging them in ashes for a month or six weeks 

 before placing them in a greenhouse, they will flower in 

 January or early in February, and are very pleasing. 

 They may be had in various colours— viz., French Single 

 White (Lily of the Virgin), French Single Blue, French 

 Single Red (Coleur de Chair). There are also doubles — 

 rose, dark and light blue, but they are not nearly so good 

 as the singles. 



Of the Florists' Hyacinth I shall be understood when 

 saying that they in the close spike are too stiff and formal, 

 but some of the long and rather loose-spiked kinds are 

 very useful and effective ; and as no spring flower can vie 

 with the Hyacinth, we should not be justified in other 

 than advising their extensive culture for their great 

 beauty, dehcious fragrance, grand and varied effect. For 

 cutting from the kinds known as " bedding " should, as 

 they ai'e less costly than named varieties, be extensively 

 grown, both under glass and in the open ground, for suc- 

 cession. Bulbs which were last season grown as pot 

 specimens, and taken care of afterwards, will if now 

 potted be found to give flowers very useful for cutting. 



Border Hy.acinths. — Hyacinthus amethyst hiua, with 

 its sky-blue bells on a spike about a foot high, is very 

 pretty, doing well in a border of rich loam, sandy rather 

 than heavy. It has the form of the Wood Hyacinth or 

 Bluebell, and flowers at the same time (April), varying 

 somewhat with the season. The Wild Hyacinth (ScUla 

 nutans), though it may be seen in many places in woods 

 by the acre, and in hedgerows in some places in count- 

 less numbers, where the soil is a light sandy loam, at the 

 close of April, is nevertheless very pretty, and is worthy 

 a place in every garden. There are varieties — alba, white ; 

 camea or rosea, rose ; and a light-red kind, rubra. They 

 do best in sandy loam, and when wild are most luxuriant 

 where the soil is enriched by fallen leaves, but they will 

 succeed admirably in strong loam. 



Grape Hyacinth (Muscaribotryoides), with blue flowers, 

 and the white variety (album) are simply beautiful. Fea- 

 ther Hyacinth (Muscari comosum monstrosum) has a 

 curious frizzled head or cluster of pale purple flowers, and 

 is useful. The Musk Hyacinth (Muscari mosohatum) is 

 esteemed for its powerful musk perfume. Starch Hya- 

 cinth (Muscari racemosus), rather larger than the Grape 

 Hyacinth, otherwise bearing a close resemblance. They 

 flower in March and April, and may be had earlier by 

 potting in autumn, and forwarding in a position near the 

 glass in a light airy greenhouse. 



Narcissus. — Charming are the Narcissi for cut flowers ; 

 they last fresh in a cut state for a long time, the buds 

 opening successionally, and are sweetly scented. _ The 

 whole genus, and it is an extensive one, is deserving of 

 culture from the purity, chasteness, and beauty of the 

 flowers, in combination with a fragrance that cannot fail 

 to please. The flowering season is long, commencing in 

 March and closing in .June. There is such a host of 

 species and varieties that I shall name only the most 



No. 1408.— Vol. LTV., Old Series. 



