BULB 



BULB 



593 



duce malformed spikes. So it is just as well for ama- 

 teurs to plant their pips an inch or two apart in pots or 

 bulb-pans, and plunge them in the garden, as recom- 

 mended for other hardy bulbs. Florists generally 

 freeze their pips in refrigerators, or have them placed, 

 just as they arrive from Germany, 2,500 pips in a case, 

 in cold storage, in a temperature of 28 to 30. 



Half-hardy bulbs for winter-flowering and forcing 

 should be treated the same as hardy bulbs, except 

 that after potting they should be placed for rooting 

 where they will not freeze. Yet they can go fairly close 

 to it and be all the better for it. In northern states, a 

 coklframe or pit or cold greenhouse to root them in is, 

 therefore, almost indispensable. For tender winter- and 

 summer-flowering greenhouse bulbs, the culture varies 

 with almost every species, and as no general instruc- 

 tions would suit all kinds, the reader may refer to their 

 individual cultures given under their respective head- 

 ings in this Cyclopedia. (See list of species at the end 

 of this article.) 



Other indoor methods. 



The flowering of bulbs in glasses, bowls or 

 unique pots, is always interesting. Among the 

 most successful and interesting are hyacinth 

 bulbs in glasses of water. Use early-flowering 

 single varieties only. The seedsmen and dealers 

 in bulbs supply special hyacinth glasses for the 

 purpose. They come in various 

 shapes, colors and decorations, and 

 vary in price from 20 cents to $1.50 

 each. These are simply filled with 

 fresh, pure water. A lump of char- 

 coal thrown in absorbs impurities, 

 but it is not absolutely necessary. 

 The bulb rests in a cup-shaped re- 

 ceptacle on top of the glass. In 

 filling, the water should not quite 

 touch the bottom of the bulb. Put 

 in a cool, dark, airy place until the 

 roots have reached the bottom of 

 the glass, which should be in about 

 six weeks. Do not place them in a 

 close, warm closet. They must have 

 fresh air. As the water evaporates, 

 fill the glasses, and change the water 

 entirely when needed to keep it 

 sweet and clear. After rooting, place 

 the glasses in a light store-room 

 where the temperature averages 

 about 50, until the stems and foli- 

 age have developed; then remove to a warm, sunny win- 

 dow for flowers to open. There are other kinds that do 

 equally well when rooted in water, providing the largest 

 healthy bulbs are chosen. Among them are sprekelia 

 ( Jacobean lily), Trumpet narcissi Horsfieldii and 

 Golden Spur, polyanthus narcissi Grand Monarque and 

 Gloriosa, large bulbs of Roman hyacinths, early single 

 tulips, and Mammoth Yellow crocus. Hyacinths have 

 been flowered on a piece of virgin cork floating in an 

 aquarium, a hole being cut through the cork for the 

 roots to reach the water. The so-called "Chinese sacred 

 lily," a variety of Polyanthus narcissus, grows and 

 flowers luxuriantly in bowls of water, provided they are 

 not placed in a dry, furnace-heated room, which will 

 cause the buds to blast before opening. Sufficient peb- 

 bles or shells should surround the bulbs to prevent 

 them from toppling over. 



Crocuses, Roman hyacinths, and lilies-of-the-valley 

 are very pretty when nicely flowered in columnar, 

 hedge-hog- or beehive-shaped hollow pots' with holes for 

 the reception of the bulbs. A bulb is placed in front of 

 each hole from the inside, with the crown of the bulb 

 looking outward. The pot is then filled with soil through 

 the large opening in the bottom, moss being pressed in 

 last to hold the contents in place, after which the pots 



38 



687. The Easter lily throws out feeding-roots 

 both below and above the bulb. 



are put outside for the bulbs to root, as explained for 

 other hardy bulbs for the house. 



The growing of bulbs in moss fiber, a method intro- 

 duced by Robert Sydenham, of Birmingham, Eng- 

 land, is well deserving of attention by the amateur. 

 The great advantage of this method is that the bulbs 

 can be grown in decorative china bowls, without drain- 

 age, while the compost is clean to handle and, as the 

 bowls are not porous, they may be set about a room 

 without danger of spotting the most highly polished 

 woodwork. The compost is made up of moss or peat 

 fiber and ground oyster-shell in the proportion of three 

 parts dry moss to two parts of the shell; a little pulver- 

 ized charcoal added tends to keep the material sweet. 

 The moss must be rubbed between the hands thoroughly 

 to break even small lumps and then mix the shell with 

 it very carefully, after which water should be slowly 

 added in the proportion of four quarts to each half- 

 bushel of the mixture. When properly moistened the 

 compost should feel quite damp but no water will be 

 squeezed out if a small quantity is pressed tightly 

 in the hand. A few pieces of charcoal should be 

 placed in the bottom of the bowl to keep the fiber 

 sweet, and the bowls should be filled to within about 

 an inch from the rim. Cover the bulbs with an inch 

 or so of the mixture, taking care not to pack the 

 fiber in so doing, and place the bowls in a cellar or 

 cool room where they can have plenty of fresh air. 

 For about three weeks the mixture 

 will itself provide sufficient mois- 

 ture, but after that time they must 

 be examined frequently; nothing is 

 so essential as keeping the fiber 

 uniformly damp to the very bottom 

 of the bowls but there must be no 

 water standing. If dry for but a 

 day there is great risk of the bulbs 

 going blind. The treatment from 

 this point on is identical with that 

 given for bulbs grown in ordinary 

 potting soil. 



Subsequent treatment of forced bulbs. 



After being forced or flowered in 

 the greenhouse or window, hardy 

 bulbs are of little value, for most 

 bulbs suitable for the purpose have 

 attained their maximum size, and, 

 in consequence, are ready to break 

 up. Florists usually throw these 

 bulbs away. However, if space can 

 be spared for the bulbs to complete their growth 

 after flowering, and watering and temperatures are 

 watched, many of them can be matured to be utilized 

 afterwards. The ripening of the foliage is as necessary 

 to forced bulbs as it is to those grown in the open, and 

 to promote this the potted bulbs should receive enough 

 care and nourishment to counteract the artificial con- 

 ditions under which they are grown. When it is desired 

 to keep forced bulbs, the compost should be made some- 

 what richer at potting time. After flowering, the pots 

 may be plunged out-of-doors, if freezing weather is over, 

 until the foliage has ripened. Then the bulbs can be 

 shaken out and planted in the mixed border or about 

 the kitchen-garden, where some of them will recuperate 

 and give flowers for cutting within a year or two, and 

 eventually they will regain their vigor sufficiently to 

 be transferred to the bulb-garden. Yet with most of the 

 bulbs the labor involved is scarcely commensurate with 

 the returns, and the bulbs might just as well be dis- 

 carded at the beginning. 



Keeping dormant bulbs, tubers, and the like. 



Bulbs and tubers of the various species, as well as 

 their varieties, vary greatly in size. Some, like oxalis, 

 snowdrops, and chionodoxas, often do not exceed half 



