HYACINTHS 401 



so often and never allow them to dry out; the soil in the pots 

 must be kept moist at all times. The first batch can be brought 

 indoors around Christmas and placed under a bench; a warm, 

 dark place will in a few days cause the tops to get busy, and 

 when these are about six inches long they should be removed 

 to more light. Always avoid a strong bottom heat and go over the 

 plants twice a day to prevent their drying out. The less 

 forcing you do after the plants have made six or eight inches of 

 growth, the better. Whenever you notice that the buds are ap- 

 parently stuck at the bottom and that the leaves make a good 

 growth but not the flower stem, there is absolutely no use in bring- 

 ing in any more of the same batch of plants for the present. Let 

 them remain outdoors for another month, when the plants will 

 have had a chance to become more potbound and when less forcing 

 will be required. 



Here it is in a nutshell : Plant early ; keep the soil moist ; prevent 

 severe freezing while outdoors; don't bring in until pot, pan or 

 flat is filled with roots. After that it is a matter of keeping the 

 plant in a dark, warm place with plenty of moisture in order to 

 obtain foliage and a fair-sized flower stem ; and, finally, light is needed 

 to develop the flowers. 



As soon as the buds show color, a well-shaded, cool place should 

 be given to finish and harden the flowers. In such a place during 

 February you can keep them in good shape for days, whereas a 

 sunny bench in a warm house two or three days finish them. During 

 January, February and March it takes a full month of forcing to 

 bring Hyacinths into flower, whereas less than three weeks is re- 

 quired in April. The larger and heavier the spikes, the more 

 they are in need of being properly staked. There is nothing better 

 than the regular green Hyacinth stakes for that purpose; you can 

 stick them right into the bulbs, close up to the stems, and use green 

 twine for tying. 



Many retail growers make use of miniature Hyacinths during 

 the Winter, both for the making up of pans and for cut flowers. For 

 these purposes we need only a few of each color at a time. A good 

 way to do is to plant in flats divided into equal parts, setting 

 the three most called for colors white, light pink and light blue 

 separately. In this way you won't need to force a whole flatful of 

 a single color, while you can bring in as many flats as you like. 



There is hardly any use describing the different sorts, there are 

 so many beautiful ones. However, the following are just a few of 

 the best known: In white, 1' Innocence, Grandeur a Merveille 

 and La Grandesse; in yellow, Princess Perfection; in light blue, 

 Queen of the Blues, Perle Brillante and Enchantress; in dark 

 blue, Grand Maitre, King of the Blues and Marie; in rose-pink, 



