38 



THE FLORISTS^ MANUAL. 



der the bench of a very cool house, 

 covered with an inch of soil. It was 

 an entire failure. There is no better 

 place for the flats when filled than 

 the surface of the open ground. We 

 smooth off a piece of ground and lay 

 out beds six or seven feet wide and 

 any desired length, leaving the same 

 width between beds. We lay down 

 strips of old boards to keep the bot- 

 toms of the flats away from the soil. 

 When one bed is covered with flats 

 we get out the hose and thoroughly 

 water the soil in the boxes. When 

 the water has soaked in we dig up the 

 ground between the beds and cover 

 the bulbs with this soil about three 



In many years we have never had 

 any difficulty in getting them in to 

 force. A mild day is sure to come 

 and you can then get in enough for 

 several weeks, keeping some of them 

 in reserve in a cool shed. If unpro- 

 tected by snow and the covering of 

 soil is frozen we bring in covering 

 and alj an d clean them off when 

 thawed out. Out of doors is their 

 natural place and I believe it is better 

 for the bulbs to make their roots there 

 than in any house or cellar you could 

 build. 



Paper White narcissus we do not 

 allow to freeze, giving them the pro- 

 tection of glass in addition to the ma- 



Hyacinths in Basket, trimmed with White Ribbon. 



inches deep. We never cut down the 

 soil nearer than a foot from the end 

 or side of the boxes because they 

 want to be well protected there. The 

 frost is sure to penetrate into the 

 beds from, the sides, if anywhere. 



Nothing more is done to the beds 

 for a month or two, or till severe 

 winter weather sets in, excepting it 

 be a very dry time. If it is dry give 

 the beds a thorough watering every 

 week. Remember the bulbs are not 

 as though they were planted out and 

 they get none of the benefit of the 

 moisture arising from the depths of 

 the ground as they would if planted 

 in it, and the bulbs will not make 

 roots unless the soil is kept moist. 

 About the middle of December we 

 throw on about four inches of stable 

 manure. It is just as well to let the 

 soil in the flats be slightly frozen be- 

 fore covering with the manure, as it 

 will stop the bulbs from growing up 

 too long. If too much manure is put 

 on it will encourage the bulbs to draw 

 up to a great length before spring, 

 which will greatly injure their hand- 

 ling. 



nure, but they are mostly into the 

 houses before very hard weather. 



Roman hyacinths will stand as 

 much freezing as the tulips, but must 

 not be handled when frozen. If frozen, 

 bring in the whole covering with 

 them and let them thaw out in a 

 very cool shed. If when frozen they 

 are put suddenly into heat (as you 

 would a tulip) they will be ruined. 



The Dutch hyacinths in pots we 

 stand in a frame on dry ashes, and 

 after covering with soil and litter 

 prefer to cover with shutters or glass 

 to prevent very hard freezing. Freez- 

 ing may not hurt the bulbs, but it 

 breaks the pots and pans. 



Roman hyacinths and Paper White 

 narcissus can be had in bloom from 

 the first of November on. They want 

 the light and no extra heat at any 

 time. Both are better when brought 

 on slowly. The Paper White, if well 

 rooted, should have seven weeks in 

 a light house at a temperature of 60 

 degrees; then it will be in good or- 

 der for Christmas. As the season ad- 

 vances Romans require less and less 

 time under glass. During March and 



April two weeks in any house will 

 bring them into flower. 



The Von Sion narcissus are forced 

 in precisely the same way as the tu- 

 lips. 



For years we struggled to get tulips 

 in flower at Christmas and with the 

 Due Van Thol, and even with some 

 of the finer early tulips, we were suc- 

 cessful. But what is there in it when 

 you have succeeded? There are plenty 

 of other flowers for all purposes, and 

 fancy trying to sell a dozen forced 

 and sickly tulips when a dozen fine 

 carnations can be had. So we have 

 left tulips alone till after New 

 Year's, when, if brought in, they can 

 be had in fine quality by end of Jan- 

 uary or a few days 'before, and that is 

 as soon as they are wanted. 



The earliest tulips want a strong 

 heat; 75 degrees is not too much, with 

 plenty of water, and they need shad- 

 ing with cheese cloth or some such 

 material to produce a good stem. Up 

 to first of March they need heat, with 

 lessening shade, after that they flower 

 on any greenhouse bench, the last 

 ones to flower inside wanting a light 

 house, as they are inclined to have 

 long, weak stems. 



The conditions to produce the early 

 tulips are heat, moisture and shade, 

 but not heat that will burn the roots. 

 On the pipes is no place for them; it 

 is heat around the young growths that 

 is wanted, not at the roots. 



The varieties I mentioned for bed- 

 ding are the very best for forcing. 

 When wanted for any special date, 

 like Easter, and they are a few days 

 too early you can help to keep the 

 tulips in good order by putting the 

 flats under the bench when the flow- 

 ers are about fully developed and cov- 

 ering with paper, which prevents the 

 opening and closing that takes place 

 on every fine sunny day. 



Hyacinths in pots and pans need 

 no forcing towards spring, coming on 

 very quickly as soon as brought into 

 the greenhouse. It is impossible to 

 give any fixed time to allow for these 

 bulbs to come into flower, as seasons 

 vary so much. 



There is an immense number of 

 species and varieties of narcissus. 

 Trumpet major and the Incomparable 

 type all do well if given the same 

 treatment as the tulips and Von Sion 

 narcissus. The Polyanthus narcissus 

 are beautiful in form and color and 

 are fragrant. They force well, but 

 should not be exposed to frost at any 

 time. They are not profitable for the 

 commercial man, but are beautiful for 

 the private conservatory. The Narcis- 

 sus poeticus, and its fine variety orna- 

 tus, are both hardy and force well, 

 and so do the elegant sweet scented 

 jonquils. 



CACTUS. 



You can walk through many a green- 

 house establishment, large and small, 

 without seeing a specimen of any of 

 these curious plants 1 , and unless you 

 are a specialist you will be wise to 

 leave them alone. The demand for 



