October 14, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



487 



Some fire-heat will now be required, at least when the ther- 

 mometer shows much below fifty degrees at night, but the sun 

 being still strong at midday, some care is required in order to 

 prevent the house from becoming too hot at that time, and it 

 is during such weather as may be expected now that some of 

 the advantages of steam-heating become manifest, because 

 this heat can be so readily shut oft' from the pipes. 



Pot-grown Hybrids for early flowering will soon be in condi- 

 tion for starting, since the hot, dry weather of the past month 

 has rather favored the early ripening of the new growth, but it 

 should always be borne in mind that the ripening process may 

 be overdone, for if the wood is allowed to shrivel for want of 

 water there will be little prospect of a satisfactory crop of 

 flowers. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W. H. Taplin. 



recommended for the Narcissus. In light soils a depth of six 

 inches is ample for Tulips, but an inch less is better if the soil 

 be of a retentive nature. If it is desired to plant the bulbs in 

 geometrical or other designs the soil must be entirely re- 

 moved from the beds to the necessary depth, leaving the 

 centre of the bed higher than the margin, just as the surface 

 will be when the bulbs are covered, otherwise the centre 

 bulbs would be covered deeper than the others and they would 

 not flower together. Care must be taken not to tread the soil 

 too hard while planting, or a free root-action will be hin- 

 dered. 



If it is necessary to enrich the soil in the beds it is best done 

 by adding the fertilizers after the bulbs are just covered with 

 soil and before the top-covering of soil is laid on. Most bulbs 

 are very impatient of being brought into direct contact with 



Fig. 76. — Habenaria carnea. — See page 484. 



Hardy Bulbs. 



I 



F not already in the ground, the bulbs of Tulips and Hya- 

 cinths, in the colder states, should be planted as soon as 

 possible, or by the end of October at the latest. Tulips, as seen 

 in our public gardens and parks, are gorgeous while they last, 

 and are eminently suited to such places, and they are often 

 planted largely in private places, and this is the reason that 

 other bulbs have been so long in the background. Tulips are 

 often planted for one season's display only and then thrown 

 away, but it is a very easy matter to plant them somewhat 

 deeper when they can remain in the beds permanently. The 

 bulbs will increase and the quantity of flowers will increase 

 annually if a good top-dressing be given to the bed in the fall, as 



manure. I always like to place it over them, that the roots 

 may have the nutriment washed down to them by the rains. 

 If there is the least germ present of what is known as the Lily 

 disease, or basal rot, in Narcissus, it seems to me highly im- 

 portant that decaying animal or vegetable matter should not 

 be allowed to come in contact with the bulbs. In cold heavy 

 soil a good sprinkling of sharp grit, or sand, should be placed 

 underneath the bulbs, and the young roots will start out with 

 more vigor and spread rapidly. Bulbs of any description, 

 indeed, cannot be grown in a soil that contains excessive 

 moisture in winter or summer ; under-draining is in such a case 

 imperative. Care must be taken that all the manure used is 

 thoroughly decomposed, for in such material as half-decayed 

 stable-manure field-mice are apt to find a happy hunting- 



