258 



THE POMOLOGIST Al^B GARDENEK. 



1871 



OKOWN IMPERIAL. 



The Crown Impbriai flowers in April, the bulb 

 throwing up a vigorous stem three feet in height, 

 producing near the top a crown of beautiful, 

 drooping, bell-shaped flowers. The stem termi- 

 nates above the crown of flowers in a tuft of glossy- 

 green leaves. There are several varieties, diftering 

 mainly in the color of the flowers, as yellow, scar- 

 let, red orange, &c. The bulbs should be planted 

 four or five inches deep and about a foot apart. 



Tke Snow Drop. The first of all the Spring 

 flowers is the pretty little Snow Drop. These 

 should be planted in groups of from ten to twenty, 

 and bloom best if not disturbed for three or four 

 years. There are single and double. The Crocus 

 follows close upon the Snow Drop, and is very 

 suitable for planting near the edge of flower beds 

 where it does not require removal. — There are 

 blue, white, yellow and variegated under various 

 names. There are the early and late Tulips, both 

 single and double — the Dwarf Due Van Tholl Tu- 

 lips, Bizarres Byblyomens and Parrot Tulips — all 

 pretty and desirable. — Rock River Farmer. 



Delaware in Minnesota. — The editor of the 

 Faribault Republican of a late date says : " We 

 gathered ten pounds of grapes from a Delaware 

 vine in our garden. Estimating five such vines to 

 the sqare rod, an acre of ground would produce 

 four tons of grapes." 



liiftlng Gladiolus Blobs. 



To make a good display of Gladiolus during the 

 summer and autumn, the bulbs should be planted 

 at intervals of two or three weeks. Those planted 

 first will, of course, ripen first, and I have found 

 that it does the bulbs no good to let them remain in 



SNOW DROP. 



the ground for any considerable time after the stems 

 and leaves are dead. Many of the earliest planted 

 are now ripe, and I am digging and drying the 

 bulbs preparatory to putting them up in their win- 

 ter quarters. When one cultivates an extensive 

 collection it is no easy task to keep each variety 

 separate when digging, drying and storing. After 

 keeping m flower pots, bags and .small boxes, I have 

 adopted the following described style of boxes : — 

 Select boards one half inch or more in thickness 

 and a foot wide, cut into lengths of four or five 

 feet ; then take common siding, six inches wide ; 

 and nail them around the wide board, which is to 

 be the bottow of your box. Put one strip of siding 

 lengthways throng the center, and then divide the 

 sides into small sections, using the same kind of 

 boards for partitions. In this way we can have ten 

 to twedty boxes all attached, each holding six to 

 twelve bulbs. Sech cases are very convenient, for 

 they can be taken into the garden and as the bulbs 

 are lifted each variety with the label dropped into 

 one of the sections, and when the divisions are all 

 full, the case can be carried into some out-house 

 where the bidbs will dry without fuather trouble, 

 the cases are set away for winter just as they come 

 from the garden, and whenever a bulb of any par- 

 ticular variety is wanted, it can be found without 

 difliculty, as the label should be placed on the top 

 of the bulbs. In the spring the cases are carried 

 out into the garden with the bulbs and the labels in 

 a convenient shape for using. By using using cases 

 as described, I have been able to keep from one to 

 two hundred .sorts of gladulous without the least 

 trouble in the way of their becoming mixed, or in 

 lifting, drying or storing in the winter. 



