General Notices. 503 



in relation to his own garden in the department of bulb-planting. A road 

 parses up to his house, bounded on one side by a lawn, wiihin a foot of the 

 edge of which are circular beds, about two feet across, and a yard distnnt 

 from each other. These are now occupied v\ith dahlias and scarlet pelar- 

 goniums alternately, and consequently may soon be expected to be vacant, 

 and they are then destined to be occupied by bulbs. It is proposed to re- 

 move the soil to the depth of eight inches, and then to dig into the lower 

 stratum a good quantity of leaf-mould and road-grit, which has previously 

 been mixed together, and, for the greater part of the past year, has been 

 in a decomposed state. This being well incorporated with the soil of ihe 

 beds, the surface of each must be smoothed, and the bulbs placed upon it, a 

 little pressure being used with each, to settle the disturbed mould, which 

 would otherwise be loo hollow. Round the bed put two rows of crocuses 

 not more than one inch from each other ; then six hyacinths spread equally 

 over the remaining portion, filling up the vacant spaces with early tulips. 

 Each bed of this size will thus contain about seveniy-two crocuses, six hya- 

 cinths, and a dozen early tulips. The taste of each gardener can regulate 

 the colors of these various kinds of flowers, as there is room for great diver- 

 sity. The hyacinths may be all different, or mixed, or all alike in each 

 bed ; and the crocuses may be mixed, or of one kind. If a number of small 

 beds are together, a good effect would be produced by having one color in 

 a bed, the contrasts being furnished by the beds themselves. As there niay 

 be innumerable combinations of colors, each amateur can consult his own 

 pleasure in the matter. 



When the beds are thus filled, a little leaf mould and sand maybe placed 

 over them, and the soil taken out should then be carefully replaced, if of 

 good quality ; but, if it is gravelly and heavy, it had better be all removed 

 at once, and a light friable loam be put instead of it. All is then complet- 

 ed, and we must wait till spring does its work, and brings the flowers above 

 the soil. The crocuses will appear first, then the tulips, then the hyacinths, 

 keeping up a succession from February to May. By the beginning of June, 

 all will be ready for removal, to make way for summer flowers. The in- 

 terest attached to such beds will be very great indeed, fully repaying the 

 cultivator for all his expense and toil, and giving a beauty of no common 

 kind to the garden at a season generally deficient of flowers. 



Of course, the gardener can place his bulbs where he pleases ; and this 

 illustration is only given as a general guide. The principles of manage- 

 ment will apply in every case, an adaptation being adopted according to 

 the size and position of the grounds. — [Gard. Chron. 1847, p. 637.) 



Bulbs in Pots. — A correspondent of the CAro?nc/e requests some information 

 respecting the growth of bulbs in pots, in the practice of which he confesses 

 he has himself failed. The subject was glanced at in an article on hya- 

 cinths, in No. 36 of this paper, to which the reader is again referred. How- 

 ever, as the subject is capable of being more minutely treated, and is ex- 

 tremely interesting at this season, we shall endeavor to give thote explicit 

 details which will satisfy the inquiries of the least instructed in these mat- 

 ters In these papers we write for the tyro and not for the advanced gar- 

 dener, and therefore repetitions must occasionally be excused. 



