48 Notes and Gleanings. 



tendon. It is known under the native name of Gurj Kuml. It lias large white- 

 scented flowers, from five to seven inches in length, which scent the air during 

 the rains. — Observer, in Gardener'' s Chronicle. 



[A correspondent informs us that Lilium i^:ganteum has flowered in the open 

 ground in New Jersey, and stood the winter with slight ground-protection. — Eds.'] 



Cultivation of Dutch Bulbs. — The amateur cultivator has, then, chiefly 

 to remember, in order to insure success, that his treatment of these Dutch bulbs 

 is not so much intended to form the flowers — the bulb-grower has already done 

 that for him — as to liberate them safely from the succulent folds of the parent 

 bulb. The flower or flower-spike is wrapped up within the bulb, and only wants 

 enticing forth from its winter prison-house in such a manner that it shall not 

 appear en dishabille. Now, to do this cleverly, the free formation of roots must 

 be induced before the growth of the leaves or flower-stem is e.xcited. This is 

 the turning-point. Get plenty of healthy roots, and, under fair conditions, good 

 flower-spikes will follow: fail to get these, and good flower-spikes are barely 

 possible. A rootless bulb may, indeed, push out its ready-formed flower-stem 

 by feeding on its own substance, even as the felled tree may sometimes clothe 

 itself with branches pushed forth by its self-contained sap ; but such develop- 

 m'ents can be in no sense perfect, and must at length fail from sheer exhaustion. 

 Hence the importance in bulb-growing (and this forms our text for the present), 

 whether in earth or water, of inducing, in the first instance, a profusion of roots, 

 as the means of securing a vigorous development of the flower-spike. 



We may usefully reproduce here Mr. Paul's nine rules for the culture of 

 hvacinths in glasses ; merely premising, that excellent results may be obtained 

 by this mode of culture ; and adding, that, mutatis mutandis, the same rules will 

 apply equally to pot-culture, substituting earth for water, and pots for glasses. 

 The rules may be slightly abridged as follows : — 



" In choosing bulbs, look for weight as well as size, and be sure the base of 

 the bulb is sound. Use single kinds only: they are earlier, hardier, and gen- 

 erally preferable. Set the bulb in the glass so that the lower end is almost, but 

 not quite, in contact with the water. Use rain or pond water. Do not change 

 the water, but keep a small lump of charcoal at the bottom of the glass. Keep 

 the glasses filled up from time to time. When the bulb is placed, put the glass 

 in a cool, dark cupboard, or other place where light is excluded. When the 

 roots are freely developed, and the flower-spike is pushing into life (which will 

 be in about six weeks), remove by degrees to full light and air. The more light 

 and air given from the time the flowers show color, the shorter will be the leaves 

 and spike, and the brighter the color." 



These directions, it will be remembered, suppose the glasses to be kept, dur- 

 ing the active development of the plant, in the habitable rooms of a dwelling, 

 where they should be placed in the window, for light, during the day, and be re- 

 moved from the window, to avoid risk from frost, during the night. Whether 

 the apartment be heated or not, is immaterial : the only difference will be in the 

 earliness or lateness of the flowers, according as they are or are not stimulated 

 by warmth. — Gardener'' s Chronicle. 



