1870. 



NEW ENGLAiTO FAPJ,IER. 



537 



I'abies' Oc^nxtmtnt 



For the New England Farmer. 

 FLOWER QARDEMING FOB OCTOBEB. 

 Out-Doors and'ln-Doors. 



Nature's gay day is drawing rapidly to a 

 close. She has already divested herself of 

 many of her sweetest and brightest habili- 

 ments, and is casting her robe of many colors 

 into the dust. "Silent type of human glory, 

 bright and fair to see in the sunshine of pros- 

 perity, mean and dejected as the sport of ad- 

 verse winds !" The frost has laid its icy fingers 

 upon all our cherished darlings, but it waited 

 long ere it appeared. Last season it came the 

 loth of S*^ptember, this year it was not seen 

 until the 7th of October, and then it went on 

 a "rampage," and froze up everything that 

 could be ii jured. Dazzlingly bright Zinnixis, 

 p:-;rfectly cupped Asters, exquisite Heliotropes, 

 and loveliest of Ger miums and Verbenas- Wtive 

 all pinched and blackened ! Still there is 

 work to be done in the garden. The scarlet, 

 white, pink and cherry Qeraniums must be 

 pulled up by their roots ; all the earth shaken 

 from them ; every leaf, bud and delicate shoot 

 cut oiF, and the whole plant suspended by the 

 roots, with a stout string tied around the stems, 

 to the beams of a frost-proof cellar which will 

 iioG mould. Here they will live as the bears 

 live upon their own fat, — will thrive on the suc- 

 culent matter stored up in their branches, and 

 when another spring time has come they will 

 renew their beauty. Scarlet salvias can be 

 packed in dry sand. After their rich blossoms 

 are cut down, take oif the branches to the 

 roots and pack away in boxes. Fuchsias can 

 be also kept in sand after all their leaves have 

 fdUen ; but care must be taken to keep all 

 such plmts where they will not mould, as that 

 will destroy their vitality. 



Dahlias and Oladioli must be removed 

 before the ground freezes, yet it is well to let 

 them remain until as late as possible, for the 

 bulb matures for another year its rich freight 

 of buds and blossoms, and the longer time it 

 has the better for it. The former bulbs must 

 be stored in dry sand, the latter can lie on a 

 shelf in any dry place where they will not 

 freeze. Salvij, patens, the richest blue flower 

 which is grown, can be stored with them, as 

 it possesses a bulbous root. 



All leaves should be raked up and laid over 

 the tlower-beds, placing slats or boards to 

 keep them from il>ing away. They make a 

 warm covering, and if dug into the ground in 

 the spring seem to fertilize it. 



Hybrid perpetual, China, Bengal and Noi- 

 seKe roses can be protected by heavy grass 

 sods, so that they will endure our severest 

 northern winters. It is too early to cover 

 them now ; later in the season we will give the 

 needful directions. 



Now is the time to prepare a bed of bulbs 

 which will gladden the eyes soon after the 

 snow and ire are gone. "Dutch flotvering 

 bulbs" are offered by all florists. Six of their 

 catalogues lie by our side, and we have been 

 comparing th^ir prices for our own satisfac- 

 tion. The ''Innisf alien Greenhouse,'''' Pitts- 

 field, Mass., offer colkctions by mail at very 

 cheap rates. $1 will bring you eleven fine 

 bulbs, among them four nan:ed Uyarinths. 

 S3 will give you forty bulbs, with nine named 

 Hi/acitiihs ; and $5 puts ninety bulbs of ten 

 different varieties of the rarest kind, number- 

 ing two Japan lilies and twelve named Hya- 

 cinths among them. The last collection will 

 give you a large bed of beautiful flowers. 



Mr. Wells' catalo 'ue also compiises very 

 cheap collections. He is a Boston florist, and 

 importer of bulbs from Haarlem, and offers 

 Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocuses and all the rarett 

 bulbs at a much lower price than any that we 

 have seen. Our mention of him is not an in- 

 terested one. for we know nothing of him, have 

 only purchased bulbs of him in years past. 

 The earLier the bulbs are put into the ground 

 after Oc^tober comes in, the better, although 

 they may be planted in November, or as long 

 as the frost does not harden the ground. In 

 choosing a location for a bed, select one so 

 sheltered that it will not be exposed to driving 

 rain storms in the early t'pring ; and the soil 

 should be light and friable loam, well drained, 

 so that the bulbs will not become, mouldy, and 

 thus decay. They will grow and bloom in 

 pure sand, if not allowed to dry up. Crude 

 manure will injure them; jet, if the soil is 

 very poor, some very old uecayed manur • will 

 be advantageous, but chicken and pig manure 

 are entirely too strong and rank for them. ^ 

 Bulbs planted in beds should always be pro- 

 tected by two or three layers of heavy manure 

 as soon as planted, but be ture to rake it off 

 before they shoot in the early s[)ring. 



Hyacinths should be covered at least three 

 inches under the soil, and can reuiain two 

 years without being replanted. In selecting 

 varieties, it is impossible to go into details, 

 for they are all so beautiful and so num rous. 

 The single and" double can be purchased of the 

 Horists in separate colors unnamed at a much 

 lower price than the named varieties, and they 

 are quite as good for mixed beds cf bulbs as 

 the named sorts. The single spi cies, as a 

 general rule, bloom the earlier, and are far 

 more desirable for house culture. These 

 bulbs are more effective when planted in 

 groups of three or five than when plamed in 

 rows or singly. 



Tulips should be covered from two to three 

 inches with soil. The early varieties, both 

 single and double, should be planted by them- 

 selves ; the double, being much later in flower- 

 ing, should be kept separate from the single 

 early-flowering varieties. Parrot Tulips are 

 remarkable for their peculiar, irregular shaped 

 petals, which are very brilliant in coloring, 



