THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



have no choice except we depart from 

 the hardy lines and take Mad. Gabriel 

 Luizet, which is worth all the trouble of 

 protecting. I lost all my bushes root 

 and branch last winter, under 35 de- 

 grees below zero, but intend to set out 

 half a dozen plants again this fall. For 

 a white rose there is none that will take 

 the place of Mad. Plantier, and there 



does not seem to be much demand for 

 a white out door rose. Mrs. J. S. Craw- 

 ford is a charming rose, so is Ulrich 

 Brunner, but neither is hardy. Dins- 

 more is not a good rose, nor are several 

 of those named by Mrs. Hoskin suitable 

 to our climate. 



T. H. Race. 

 Mitchell, July 18th. 



IMPORTED BULBS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



"7 MPORTED bulbs, or bulbs of for- 

 eign growth, which have met with 

 J I greatest favor, and are perhaps the 

 most suitable for mid winter 

 flowering are : Hyacinth, Narcissus, 

 Tulips, (Lilium Harrisii or Bermuda), 

 Easter lily, Lilium longiflorum, Freesia 

 and Crocus. 



These are imported in large quantities 

 between July and November from 

 France, Holland, Germany, Bermuda 

 and Japan. 



The Black Calla or Arum Sanctum 

 may also come under this head, as it is 

 an importation from Asia Minor, but 

 the Calla lily or White Calla is a pro- 

 duction of California. 



Bermuda freesias are perhaps the 

 earliest to appear on the market, some 

 of which, grown this year, were with us 

 as early as June 20th, these were fol- 

 lowed a few days later by L. Harrisii* 

 Roman hyacinths from Aug. 5th to 10th; 

 narcissus, Aug. 20th ; hyacinths, tulips 

 and other Dutch bulbs, Sept. 5th to 

 10th ; a full supply of lilies during 

 October, with Hamburg lily of the valley 

 pips later, or about Nov. 5th to 10th. 



Were I asked to name the most 

 popular of these bulbous plants, or the 

 one for which there is the greatest de- 

 mand I would have to name the hyacinth; 

 therefore, I shall confine my remarks to 

 this special bulb, and feel, should these 



notes prove helpful to any readers of 

 The Horticulturist, I will be thoro- 

 ughly repaid, and may, at a future date, 

 give a short note on the cultivation of 

 the others. As a rule, we may say that 

 bulbs require a rich loam soil, to which 

 about one-fourth its bulk of sand has 

 been added. In the culture of the 

 hyacinth I would suggest a liberal addi 

 tion of leaf soil, to fibrous loam, sharp 

 sand and well decayed cow manure, it is 

 important that the same be thoroughly 

 mixed and allowed to stand some time 

 before use. 



Roman and Dutch are the two im- 

 portant classes by which hyacinths are 

 known, Romans being the most used 

 for forcing. 



When forced, this variety may be 

 brought to bloom between the 15 th and 

 20th of December. Dutch hyacinths 

 are commonly grown for bedding and 

 decoration, and are not forced to any 

 extent for their flowers. When culti- 

 vating the hyacinth in pots, leave the 

 top of the bulb a trifle exposed and let 

 the soil be moderately moist. 



The pots should be placed outdoors 

 on a bed of wet ashes, covered with six 

 inches of the same material and left ex- 

 posed to the weather. When the bulbs 

 are well rooted and about an inch of top 

 growth has been made they may be 

 removed indoors, to force ; first into a 

 3i8 



