488 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 190. 



ground, and they are exceedingly fond of Tulips and other 

 choice bulbs. 



All these directions apply equally well to Hyacinths also, 

 with the exception that Hyacinths, though they flower for two 

 or three years, are never so good as they are the first season, 

 and cannot be relied upon for permanent planting as Tulips 

 and Narcissus can. It is scarcely necessary here to name va- 

 rieties, as these are always well described and classed as to 

 season, height and color in all bulb-catalogues, and it would 

 be but a repetition here, but I would like to suggest a trial of 

 the species of Tulips, even if only a few of each be planted. 

 They are quite distinct ; many are both curious and beauti- 

 ful, most of them flower late, and all are worth growing. I 

 refer to such species as Tulipa Gesneriana, T. Grelgii, T. Turk- 

 estanica, T. Oculis-solis, T. cornuta, T. Ititeci; T. Clusiana, T. 

 Florentina, and a few others. T. Greigii, the " Queen of Tu- 

 lips," is especially beautiful in flower and foliage. The Par- 

 rott Tulips, though they are unfitted for in-door culture, are 

 very much admired and useful for cutting. These succeed 

 well in the open ground when the soil is not too rich. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. 0. Orpet. 



Planting Hardy Bulbs. 



T T is an error to defer the planting of hardy spring-flowering 

 -*■ bulbs until the earth has become lowered in temperature 

 by the wet and cold of the late autumn months. There are 

 cases where the planting of some bulbs cannot be done much 

 before November. Flower-beds on the grass, for instance, 

 often cannot be disturbed before the middle of October, and 

 when Hyacinths, Tulips, and similar things are made use of 

 to embellish them during the spring months, the bulbs can, 

 of course, only be put in the ground when the summer occu- 

 pants are cleared off. Even at this time, however, there is 

 still some warmth in the ground, much more than a month 

 later, when the soil generally comes down to such a low 

 temperature that bulbs planted then will frequently remain 

 until early spring before making roots. This, I think, must 

 exercise a deteriorating influence on the blooming powers of 

 any bulbous plant that flowers in spring. It is not at all 

 natural for Narcissi, Hyacinths, etc., to pass the winter in a 

 rootless condition, and when they do so they are at the mercy 

 of an inclement winter. Being so hardy, they will not show 

 the effects of cold and wet in such a marked manner as Lilies, 

 for instance, but I am convinced that if a portion of the bulbs 

 are planted at any time during the next six week's, and the 

 remainder at the beginning of the winter, there will be a suffi- 

 ciently marked difference in the earliness and quality of the 

 bloom to fully prove the importance of early planting. There 

 is no time so good as the month of September for getting the 

 bulbs in the ground, and I think that this is more especially 

 true of Narcissi ; the majority of these begin their season's 

 work in that month, as may be ascertained by taking up a 

 bulb or two. 



Some bulbous flowers, such as Crocuses and Tulips, do not 

 apparently suffer by being kept out of the ground during the 

 early autumn months, but I am convinced that Narcissi, more 

 especially those that belong to the Daffodil group, deteriorate 

 more or less if kept out of the soil until winter arrives. Those 

 kinds that love plenty of moisture at the roots when growing 

 appear to feel a lengthened absence from the earth most 

 acutely, and if not planted by the end of October good flowers 

 cannot be reckoned upon. It is the same in pot-culture. Many 

 persons make a point of potting their bulbs at intervals of a 

 fortnight, so as to insure successional bloom, but this is bad 

 practice and unnecessary as regards the result aimed at. It is 

 better to pot them all early, and regulate their blooming season 

 by other means, which can, of course, be easily done, and thus 

 have the advantage of thoroughly well-rooted plants. 



Opinions vary as to the depth at which the bulbs should be 

 set in the ground, and no absolute rule can be made in this 

 matter, not even for any one particular kind of bulb. Soils 

 vary infinitely, and when I see the recommendation that Hya- 

 cinths should be planted three inches deep, I know that the 

 writer is thinking of those close heavy lands into which warmth 

 penetrates but slowly, and from which superabundant moisture 

 passes away with difficulty. In porous soils Hyacinths may be 

 planted from four to six inches deep, and will be more likely 

 to do well than when set nearer the surface, as they are not 

 likely to suffer so much if the weather is hot and dry at bloom- 

 ing-time. In my light soil I have planted bulbs that had 

 bloomed in pots quite eight inches deep, and they come up 

 and bloom very well every year. Tulips should not be planted 

 quite so deep, but the stronger-habited Daffodils, such as Hors- 

 rieldi, Emperor, the common Lent Lily, etc., have always ap- 



peared to me to grow much stronger when planted about 

 six inches deep. Where the Lent Lily grows naturally it is 

 seldom found nearer the surface than this. I once had, the 

 curiosity in a copse where thousands of this Daffodil were in 

 bloom to see if I could find any bulbs near the surface. With 

 the exception of the very small ones, I failed to find any at a 

 less depth than six inches, which would seem to indicate that 

 in the case of this Daffodil at least there is a tendency on the 

 part of the bulbs to work downward as they get older. I do 

 not see how it can be otherwise, as the seeds, of course, ger- 

 minate quite near the surface. 



It is as difficult to determine the depth at which all the Nar- 

 cissi should be set in the ground as to decide what kind of soil 

 and position best suits each particular kind. I am convinced 

 that the more delicate kinds dislike to be deeply buried in the 

 ground. It is courting certain failure to plant such kinds as 

 Cernuus, Moschatus, Mary Anderson, Leda and others in heavy 

 land at the same depth as the gross-growing Sir Watkin or 

 Emperor, and even in light soils I find they do better when 

 not more than three inches of earth covers the bulbs. In their 

 case success or failure may entirely depend on the influence 

 that the sun's rays exercise on the bulbs both when in growth 

 and during the resting period. The Lent Lily, the old double 

 Daffodil, the Tenby, and a few others will thrive in positions 

 where the bulbs are screened from the sun when at rest, but 

 under such conditions kinds of a less robust nature will die 

 out. A certain amount of the ripening process that is indis- 

 pensable for many bulbous flowers would appear in their case 

 to be necessary. In retentive soils they cannot feel the influ- 

 ence of the sun's heat to an appreciable extent, unless the 

 bulbs are set within two or three inches of the surface. I 

 have had no experience of basal rot in Daffodils, and with 

 some kinds and in certain soils it may not be possible to ab- 

 solutely guarantee every bulb from its attacks, but it is reason- 

 able to suppose that an immature condition of the bulbs will 

 favor its development, and more especially if they are encased 

 in a mass of sodden soil during the winter months. In an inter- 

 esting note on this subject in a recent issue of The Garden, a 

 correspondent observes, " I have no doubt that the failure of 

 these bulbs is to be attributed to the want of, sun and undue 

 moisture," and I would, therefore, recommend a trial of shal- 

 low planting in the case of kinds that are liable to this disease. 

 — J. C. B., in The Garden, London. 



The Hardy Plant Garden. 



A T every season there are hardy plants which are pre- 

 -**■ eminent, and in the late fall no other, at least among 

 the tall-growing kinds, are as attractive and useful as the 

 Japanese Anemones, furnishing as they do an abundance of 

 handsome flowers just before the glory of the Chrysanthe- 

 mums begins. Other flowers there are, of course, in various 

 stages of perfection. The hardy Gaillardias, as for months 

 past, are still in profuse bloom, their large flowers showy but 

 somewhat coarse. A few perennial Asters still linger, An- 

 themis tinctoria displays a profusion of its yellow stars, Cam- 

 panula lactiflora and C. rotundifolia are still covered with 

 flowers ; Plumbago Larpenta will only cease to unfold its pure 

 blue' flowers when frozen ; Achillea rosea and A. ptarmica, 

 Tricyrtis, a few Phloxes and Epilobiums give stray bits of color, 

 with no signs of suffering as yet from autumnal winds. But 

 among them all the Japanese Anemones stand in queenly 

 grace, though not at their best this year, owing to the dry 

 season, for they require a somewhat moist location. 



If one had the room a very pleasing effect could be made 

 with a bed of Japanese Anemones, with, perhaps, the blue 

 flowering Autumn Monkshood {Aconitum autunmale) as a foil, 

 bordered with broad masses of Autumn Colchicums and Cro- 

 cuses. With fair weather such a bed would prove bright and 

 attractive in the " melancholy days " of the year. Ah ! that 

 weather — a subject never worn to the grower of hardy plants, 

 which disarranges our best-laid plans and handicaps us in 

 every cultural struggle. When the Government's rain-makers 

 return to observation perhaps they may have so mastered the 

 eletnents that we may have climates turned on to suit, and in 

 those happy days advice as to cultural details may be of some 

 value. At present out-of-door gardening is a hit-or-miss affair 

 at best, and one does what experience teaches is the best aver- 

 age practice, with sometimes queer results. For several 

 years my Chrysanthemums were nearly drowned out, as they 

 were planted on the level, and this led me to plant them in 

 raised beds. Since adapting this practice we have not had 

 enough rain during the growing season to keep them in 

 good health. If I have advised any one heretofore to grow 



