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CULTIVATION AND ANALYSIS OF PLANTS. 
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When the stalks begin to run up, stakes or rods should be driven into the ground near 
them, and the plants secured against the wind. In or out of doors they require an average 
heat of about sixty degrees, and should therefore be housed early enough not to be touched 
with frost. In their season of rest the temperature may be reduced to forty, but they are 
all the better for fifty degrees of heat and no stagnant moisture. Being evergreen in the 
native state, it is conjectured by some that the Tuberose could be sufficiently rested with- 
out allowing its leaves to die; and some florists have them in flower nearly all the year 
round. 
ONE TULIP. 
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“REAT favorites in former times, when their cultivation fairly 
amounted to a mania, the Tulips have enjoyed the distinction of 
having immense sums freely spent in the endeavor to procure some 
»hew variety. Those times, already far in the past, will return to 
¥ them no more; yet they will never entirely lose their popularity, 
as their gorgeous blossoms brighten the earth simultaneously with 
the Hyacinth and Crocus, or about as soon as the grasses begin to clothe 
Se sCher in a mantle of green. Tulips are grown abroad much more than in this 
iN country, though they are as easy of culture here’ as there. There are special 
4 exhibitions of Tulips held in many countries of Europe every year, which cir- 
cumstance naturally gives a great impetus to their cultivation, and is itself a 
survival of the old mania. They construct canvas tents for their Tulip beds, 
which they hasten to throw up on the approach of every storm, and in many ways mani- 
fest a special concern about this favored plant. These show-flowers are known under the 
names of Bazaar, Flamed, Feathered and Self-colored Tulips. The latter are often watched 
for years, if well marked, to note their transformation into one of the other divisions. If 
the event transpires favorably, and a remarkably unique specimen is produced, it is seldom 
sold for less than one hundred dollars. 
Tulips will grow in almost any soil unless there is too much moisture. The bulbs 
should be planted about six inches apart and covered up to the depth of four inches. The 
best season for planting is in October. As a protection against severe frost, a layer of 
leaves about six inches deep, with a foot of stable manure added, will be effective. This 
covering should of course be removed early in spring. In planting, the usual underlying 
handful of sand will be found, as a protection against rot, as serviceable to Tulip bulbs as 
to any others. After the flowers and leaves have dicd down, the bulbs should be taken up 
and stored away in some place not subject to damp. There are principally three species 
in cultivation, viz.: the Dutch, or Van Thol, the Oriental, and the Parrot. To secure a 
pleasing continuity of flowers, the readiest method is to set bulbs of each of these. The 
Van Thols bloom in March and April, the Parrots later, and the Orientals ‘last, terminat- 
ing with June. The Van Thols or Dwarf Tulips are usually planted for window or 
greenhouse culture; the others are not so well adapted to such purposes. 
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