242 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



October, 1907 



to hand, unless perhaps it could be 

 obtained of some florists, or at a seed 

 store. In case it cannot be obtained, 

 get some good, light, loamy garden soil, 

 mix with this some pulverized dry cow 



4. How to Handle a Pot of Bulbs 



Showing position of hand when desiring to knoclc bulbs 

 out of pot to examine roots. 



manure, four parts of soil to one of 

 manure. Or about one quart of fme 

 bone meal to half a bushel of soil will 

 make a good compost, or some of the 

 commercial fertilizers sold at seed stores 

 could be used to mix with the garden 

 soil. If the Soil is heavy, mix in a 

 little fine, sharp sand as before recom- 

 mended. The soil should be fairly dry 

 when used for potting. 



DRAINAGE 



No broken crock, charcoal, and so 

 on, need be used for bulbs. Care 

 should be taken, however, that all 

 boxes or pans used should have holes 

 in the bottom sufficient for drainage. 



HOW TO POT BULBS 



First of all fill the pot or box from 

 one -half to about two-thirds full — 

 according to size of bulbs — with the 

 soil, press the soil down sUghtly. Then 

 place the bulbs in position at proper 

 distances apart as before mentioned, 

 so that the top or apex of the bulb is 

 about an inch below the top of the pot 

 or box. It may be necessary to take 

 the bulbs out and add more soil, or 

 remove some, perhaps, before the bulbs 

 are placed at the proper depth. When 

 this latter point is assured, fill the pots 

 loosely full level to the brim, then press 

 the soil fairly firm around the bulbs 

 until the surface is about half an inch 

 below the edge of the pot or box, 

 leaving the surface quite level. Give 

 the pots sufficient water to moisten 

 well all the soil in the pots. Two 

 waterings may be necessary for this 

 purpose. Then stand the pots away 

 in a cool, damp, dark place in a tem- 

 perature of from forty to fifty degrees 



to secure good roots on the bulbs. The 

 cellar floor, or a dark basement, or 

 close cupboard or box will suit them 

 for this purpose. 



The pots should be buried in sand, 

 sawdust, or dry soil to induce good 

 root growth. This material should be 

 packed closely around the pots and 

 cover the pots to the depth of an inch 

 or two. The pots seldom require water 

 again until rooted, unless the place 

 they are in is very hot and dry. Early 

 potted bulbs can be placed out of 

 doors and covered in the manner de- 

 scribed, but must be protected from 

 sharp frosts so that they can be got at 

 easily to be brought indoors when 

 rooted. The bulbs usually take from 

 about four to five weeks to root well. 

 To secure good roots to bulbs before 

 bringing them into the window is 

 absolutely necessary to ensure the best 

 flowering results. 



WHEN TO TAKE BULBS INTO WINDOW 



After the pots have been in their 

 dark cool quarters for four or five weeks, 

 they can be examined. If their deli- 

 cate white roots appear through the 

 holes in the bottom of the pots the 



S. Pot of Bulbs Nicely Rooted 



Ready to be brought into window for flowering. 



bulbs can be brought into the window. 

 If no roots appear the pots can be 

 taken out and carefully examined. 

 This is best done by taking the pot in 

 both hands as seen in cut No. 4, and 

 then turning the pot upside down and 

 striking the edge or rim of the pot on 

 a soHd bench or table, tmtil the ball of 

 earth and roots is removed, as seen in 

 cut No. 5. If the bulbs are as well 

 rooted as seen in this picture, the pot 

 should be placed over the ball of earth 

 while still in the position shown in 

 cut No. .5, and then restore the pot 

 with the plant to its proper position. 



Examining the roots of bulbs is a 

 deUcate operation, and should be done 

 as seldom as possible, as there is dan- 



ger of breaking the ball ol earth, and 

 the roots,, which latter would seriously 

 injure, if not ruin, the bulbs altogether. 

 The bulbs should be watered at once 

 again after being examined to settle 

 the earth around the roots. The bulbs 

 can remain in their cool, dark quarters 

 for several weeks after being rooted 

 if desired, but must be brought into 

 the window when the top growth has 

 attained to a height of about two 

 inches, or the flowering results will not ■ 

 likely be as good . as they should be. 

 Cut No. 3 gives a good idea as to the 

 stage of top, growth when it is advis- 

 able to bring the bulbs into the window. 

 When brought into the window, place 

 them in a not too sunny position, and 

 see that the soil is kept well moist by 

 regular and copious waterings, always 

 giving enough water to moisten all 

 the soil in the pot. 



Bulbs grown in pots in the winter 

 are seldom of any use for the following 

 season, and it is better to purchase 

 fresh bulbs every year. After flower- 

 ing the bulbs can be dried off gradu- 

 ally. When the foliage is quite dead, 

 no more water should be given them. 

 Stand the pots away in a cool place 

 until spring or summer, when the bulbs 

 can be planted out in the border, 

 where they may throw a few blossoms 

 the next season, especially the nar- 

 cissi. The hyacinths are not as likely 

 to give good results in this way, espe- 

 cially the Roman hyacinths, as the 

 latter are not hardy out of doors. 



GROWING HYACINTHS IN GLASSES 



Dutch hyacinths can be grown in 

 glasses made specially for this purpose. 



6. Chinese Sacred Lily 



In glass bowl ready for the %vindow. 



The glasses should be filled with rain 

 water so that when the bulb is placed 



