TUL 



[ 799 ] 



TUL 



hind the p alin g, to be advancin g in growth ; 

 so that when the paling decays the hedges 

 would be high and thick enough to answer 

 the purpose. Whatever shelter is made 

 use of, it should be placed at a sufficient 

 distance from the beds not to draw up 

 the flowers, or prevent a full exposure to 

 light. On these accounts, or for these 

 reasons, the wind-shelters should never 

 exceed six or eight feet high. 



Draining. The tulip loves a deep soil 

 and a dry subsoil. Where there is a good 

 depth of good loam, with a dry, gravelly, 

 or sandy bottom, no more drains are 

 required than one or two formed with 

 drain-pipes and tiles to carry off the water 

 that may fall in wet seasons on the sur- 

 face. An upright shaft, with a grating 

 on the top to catch this surface-water, 

 will be necessary. When the natural soil 

 is shallow and the subsoil clay, or any 

 other water-retaining substance, set out 

 the bed the desired length and breadth, 

 and cast on one side all the good soil, 

 shovelling the small crumbs ; then dig, 

 or hack and shovel out the subsoil till 

 the bed is eighteen inches deep. After 

 that is finished, dig a drain in the centre 

 of the bed six inches deep, and wide 

 enough to allow the operator to lay down 

 first the flat tiles, and then the circular 

 pipes, with holes in the latter to admit 

 the water to escape into them, and then 

 be carried clean away. When the pipes, 

 &c., are laid down, cover them with rubble, 

 and then lay all over the bottom of the 

 bed three or four inches of either small 

 stones, broken clinkers, or brick ends. 

 Upon this drainage lay a stratum of short 

 straw or small brushwood ; make this 

 smooth, and you may consider the drain- 

 age complete. 



Manure and Soil. Procure some one- 

 year-old cow-dung ; spread over and upon 

 the drains a stratum of this cow-dung 

 two inches thick ; then mix about one- 

 sixth of very well-decomposed hotbed 

 dung with the loam thrown out and laid 

 on one side on commencing the opera- 

 tion of draining. If there is not enough 

 soil to make the bed up level as before, 

 procure some good loam for the purpose, 

 mixing it with the same proportion of 

 well-decomposed dung. If the situation 

 is low and damp, it will be advisable to 

 place an edging round the bed six or 

 eight inches deep, of sufficient strength 

 to bear up the soil when it is raised to 

 that height. The best material for an 



edging of this kind is blue slate, which 

 may now be had very reasonably; the 

 next best are common flags of slate ; and 

 the next, slabs of wood nailed to strong 

 uprights driven into the ground at proper 

 intervals. Mix the top surface with a 

 considerable mixture of river sand ; this 

 will cause the bulbs to come out of the 

 soil at taking -up time clean and of a 

 bright brown colour. Should the collec- 

 tion be large, there should be two parallel 

 beds, with a walk between them. 



Planting. The best season is about 

 the beginning of the second week in No- 

 vember, as near the tenth of that month 

 as the weather and the state of the ground 

 will permit. This rule applies to all the 

 country north of London ; perhaps, in the 

 milder climate of the southern counties, 

 a week later would be better. Too early 

 planting is injurious, inasmuch as that 

 the leaves will be pushing through before 

 the severe weather has passed away, and 

 would then be in danger, however well 

 protected, of being frost-nipped, and, 

 consequently, injured not only for that 

 year, but also for years to come. 



The Method of Planting is governed by 

 the height of the flower-stems ; for, as 

 some varieties grow taller than others, 

 the tallest should be in the centre of the 

 bed. This consideration renders it neces- 

 sary to plant them in rows lengthways of 

 the bed, and not across it. This being 

 determined upon, let the soil of the bed 

 be levelled and made tolerably smooth ; 

 then, with a triangular hoe, draw a drill 

 the length of the bed, as near two inches 

 deep as possible. To accomplish this 

 quite straight, it will be necessary to have 

 a line stretched very tightly the whole 

 length of the bed, at such a distance from 

 the centre as will allow the point of the 

 hoe, in drawing the drill, to be exactly in 

 the centre. As soon as the drill is drawn, 

 bring out all the tall growers, and plant 

 them five inches apart at the bottom, 

 giving each a gentle pressure. When 

 the row is finished, thrust in at each end 

 a strong stick; this is to mark where the 

 row of bulbs is when covered up. Of 

 very choice and expensive varieties, some 

 florists recommend covering the bulbs 

 with fine white sand ; but, if the soil is 

 mixed with sand, we think the white sand 

 may be dispensed with. Cover them up by 

 drawing the soil over them with a short- 

 toothed rake. After that let the soil on 

 each side of the planted row be stirred 



