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October 29, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



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A Formal Bulb Gardeiu North Easton, Mast., May, 1908. 



splendid and for grace and exquisite form 

 Leedsii Mrs. Langtry, Minnie Hume and 

 Duchess. of Westminster have no peers. 



The old double white, gardenia-scented 

 narcissus is not often seen in good con- 

 dition; usually the flower stems come 

 blind. This arises from the bulbs being 

 too crowded and in too dry a location. It 

 must have a cool, moist soil of good 

 depth. For Memorial day trade this is 

 valuable. The Sulphur Phoenix, ox Cod- 

 lins and Cream, is another desirable 

 double variety. 



Narcissi in Grass Land. 



Each year more and more narcissi are 

 being used for naturalizing in grass land. 

 When planted in this way, the grass 

 should not be cut until the foliage on the 

 bulbs has ripened. Used thus, the beau- 

 ties of the daffodils appeal to everyone. 

 There should be no formality in this style 

 of planting. The bulbs, if scattered over 

 the grass by hand and planted just where 

 they fall, will look perfectly natural. 



In addition to N. poeticus, the follow- 

 ing varieties lend themselves specially 

 well for use in grass land: ^. Burbid- 

 gei, N. Burbidgei Vanessa, N. William 

 Goldring, N. Leedsii Duchess of Brabant 

 and Mrs. Langtry, N. Johnstoni, Queen of 

 Spain, N. incomparabilis, N. Barri con- 

 spicuus and Flora Wilson. N. Emperor, 

 Sir Watkin, Empress and other robust 

 sorts, if used, should be in coarser grass 

 land than the other sorts named. 



With the possible exceptions of the 

 common Lent lily, N. Pseudo-Narcissus, 

 and varieties of N. Spurius, each of 

 which are injured by manure, the gen- 

 eral run of narcissi like a loose soil 

 which has a good application of well de- 

 cayed barnyard manure incorporated 

 with it. 



Bulbs vary so much in size that there 

 can be no exact depth given for planting. 

 N. minimus has bulbs no larger than a 

 snowdrop, while those of Sir Watkin are 



as big as one's fist. From two and one- 

 half to five inches are correct depths, the 

 latter for the largest bulbed varieties. 

 The soil must be thoroughly firmed after 

 the bulbs are planted and a light winter 

 mulch need not be given until the ground 

 freezes. From October 15 to November 

 15 I have found a good time to plant 

 narcissi. W. N. Cbaiq. 



BULB GROVING. 



How to Make It Profitable. 



The subject is an old one and has 

 been written on the world over. It 

 would be superfluous to a Hollander, 

 but as the bulb-growing industry is just 

 now booming in this country it is worth 

 every florist's attention and he can then 

 form his own opinion as to whether or 

 not it is worth while to grow some. The 

 writer has had twenty-five years' expe- 

 rience and is surprised to find some 

 florists have no bulbs at all — a grave 

 mistake, as will be shown. There is 

 no other flower that can be grown so 

 cheaply or so easily. 



When, a few years ago, the industry 

 was in the experimental stage, the 

 growers, finding they had certain va- 

 rieties unsuited to this country, sold 

 them — the worst thing they could have 

 done, as the country was on the tiptoe 

 of expectation as to results. 



Troubles With Von Sion. 



One man in the iouth informed me 

 that Narcissus Telamonius plenus (Von 

 ^ Sion), the old double daffodil, grew re- 

 markably well, but as the flowers were 

 green, he closed out his bulbs to a green- 

 house firm in the north for forcing! 

 Moral: Do not buy American grown 

 Von Sion until a section is found where 

 they grow yellow. We grew several 

 thousands this year and got about fifty 



per cent of yellow, so we are giving them 

 one more trial. 



Great trouble was experienced in Lin- 

 colnshire, England, ten or twelve years 

 ago with this variety, on account of bad 

 colored blooms and basal disease. Both 

 troubles are now completely overcome 

 and the best in the world are grown 

 there now, tons being "Sent to Holland 

 annually and sent here as Dutch bulbs. 

 This applies also to Ornatus, which is 

 shipped from England to Holland in 

 enormous quantities, probably 100 tons 

 a year. The price this year for both 

 sorts is $100 to $150 a ton, f. o. b., as 

 lifted, free from soil and disease. The 

 latter variety is the more profitable bulb 

 to grow and many acres are grown, most 

 of all in Lincolnshire. Labor is cheap 

 and if the blooms realize anything over 

 50 cents a thousand, it is a paying crop. 



A Practical Question. 



The question arises: Why is it that 

 all Europeans love this flower and 

 Americans do not! We would like to 

 see this question answered. If it is be- 

 cause they do not make bunch enough, 

 neither do violets nor valley, but we 

 really think this is the reason. They 

 force exceedingly well and, being small, 

 the bulbs take up little room in the 

 boxes and are light freight. They are 

 prolific and first size bulbs average two 

 blooms. They pay to force at $1 per 

 gross. 



Do not put in the greenhouse until 

 December. A good freeze is considered 

 beneficial by some, but not by me, and 

 these opinions hold good with all bulbs. 

 I am not alone in my opinion, and pre- 

 fer to protect them. It is not customary 

 in Europe to put the boxes under the 

 benches, but to carry them in frozen 

 solid and drench with water. Each va- 

 riety is put into the house according to 

 its period of flowering; i. e.. Golden 



