October, 1913. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



245 



The Culture of Bulbs 



Henry Gibion, 



NO garden is complete without nar- 

 cissus, which include jonquils, and 

 the Chinese sacred lily, or fairy 

 flower. The innumerable positions in 

 which they can be planted to advantage 

 in the garden is in a measure responsible 

 for their popularity. They may be grown 

 in the town lawn or clumped here and 

 there in masses of distinct varieties in 

 the herbaceous border. As a border 

 for a shrubbery they give their full 

 measure of graceful splendor. For 

 natural plantations, outlying portions of 

 the lawn, the wild garden, terrace slopes 

 or the banks of streams, they possess a 

 grace and beauty that is almost inde- 

 scribable. 



DEPTH OF PLANTING 

 Owing to lack of uniformity in the 

 size of the bulbs it is not advisajjle to try 

 to give any definite depth at which they 

 should be planted. The simple rule of 

 covering the bulb from two to two and 

 a half times its length, measuring from 

 the base to the neck where it begins to 

 swell out into its rounding shape, is a 

 good one. The distance between the 

 bulbs should be three to four inches for 

 the smaller sizes, and five to six inches 

 for the larger ones. When naturalizing 

 bulbs an effective way of spacing them 

 is to take a handful from the bag and 

 drop them where they are to be planted. 

 In this way a natural grouping is the 

 result. 



For the window garden grow narcissus 

 in pots the same as you would tulips and 

 hyacinths. Don't plant single bulbs in 

 a pot ; they are not effective. Put five 

 or six bulbs into a six or seven inch pot. 

 The designations, daffodils, narcissus 

 and jonquils, are often misapplied by 

 amateurs, and the result is invariably 

 disappointing. Daffodil is a name ap- 

 plied to all double narcissus. The name 

 "narcissus" calls for the poet's narcis- 

 sus and its family. Jonquil is a popu- 

 lar name given to all single trumpet 

 narcissi, regardless of any other form or 

 class. 



The Chinese sacred lily produces white 

 flowers with yellow cups in bunches of 

 five or six on a stem. Although they 

 do well when grown in pots, like other 

 bulbs, they give the best results when 

 grown in a dish or bowl half filled with 

 water and pebbles. 



A covering of some kind is desirable 

 for all bulbs planted outdoors ; not so 

 much to keep out the cold as to pre- 

 vent alternate freezing and thawing, 

 which tears the roots, and frequently 

 lifts the bulbs almost out of the ground. 

 For this purpose nothing is better than 

 nature's covering- — leaves. Do not 

 spread them on too thick or they will heat 

 towards spring and .send out a prema- 



Staatsburg 



ture growth, which would be followed 

 by disastrous results should frost get 

 near them. Pine boughs, straw and old 

 corn stalks are excellent substitute for 

 leaves, but they, like the leaves, should 

 be removed as early as possible in the 

 spring. 



POT CULTUEB 



Bulbs planted in pots for indoor 

 blooming, and placed in a cool dark 

 place, as suggested, will take from six 

 to seven weeks to root. One can readi- 

 ly ascertain when they are rooted suf- 

 ficiently by turning one out of its pot. 

 If the soil is well interlaced with young 

 white roots they are ready to bring to 

 the light. This is a process that should 

 be done gradually, as too strong a light 

 at first has a very detrimental effect on 

 the plants. 



A good idea is to have a table with 

 three shelves in it in front of the win- 

 dow. Such a table can easily be con- 

 structed at home, and the utility of it is 

 too evident to need comment. When 

 the first bulbs are brought in to the 

 light, place them on the bottom shelf. 

 After they have been there in the dif- 

 fused light for a few days they may be 

 placed on the second shelf, and finally on 

 the table, into full sunlight. Meanwhile 

 the lower shelves can be fitted with other 

 pots to provide a succession of bloom. 



Following is a list of seven varieties 

 of bulbs that will provide continuous 

 bloom from Christmas until Easter in 

 the window garden. The first date is 

 when the plants are brought to the 

 light; the other two give the season of 

 bloom : 



Chinese Lily, second week in Nov. ; 

 bloom, Dec. 23 to Jan. 12; Paper White 

 Narcissus, first week in Dec, bloom, 

 Jan. 9 to Feb. i ; Grand Soliel d'Or Nar- 

 cissus, first week in Dec, bloom, Jan. 

 22 to Feb. 13; Garrich Hyacinth, third 

 week in Dec, bloom, Jan. 28 to March 

 I ; Poeticus Cunatus Narcissus, last 

 week in Jan., bloom, Feb. 26 to March 

 19; Van Siaw Narcissus, second week 

 in Feb., bloom, March 7 to March 25; 

 Princess Manionne Tulip, first week in 

 March, bloom March 23 to April 12. 



Fertilizers {or Ginseng 



Prof. J. E. Hawitt, O.A.C., Guclph, Ont. 



Acid phosphate (treated rock or bone) 

 is a satisfactory fertilizer for it main- 

 tains the acidity of the soil and thus pre- 

 vents conditions favorable to the devel- 

 opment of the rust or rot fungus. Acid 

 phosphate should be applied to the beds 

 at the rate of one thousand pounds an 

 acre. Some growers use heavier appli- 

 cations than this. 



The digging in of a good forest leaf 

 mulch by some growers is claimed to 

 make an excellent fertilizer and it is 

 thought to keep the soil in the proper 

 acid condition. Experiments are now 

 under way in the United States to test 

 the efficiency of leaf-mulches in maintain- 

 ing the acidity of the soil and preventing 

 rust. 



Nitrate of soda is often applied to 

 ginseng beds, but great care is required 

 in its use as heavy applications often 

 cause a burning or scalding of the foli- 

 age. The same is true of heavy applica- 

 tions of barnyard manure especially if 

 applied fresh. A light mulch of farm- 

 yard manure, even fresh, applied in the 

 fall of the year, gives good results. 



Calceolaria* in the Border at the Guelph Agricultural College 



