23 



FEBBUABY 



Forced bulbs — The exhibitions of the Eoyal Horticultural Society — 

 Early spring salads, and vegetables — Bhubarb tarts— Orange 

 marmalade — Beceipts by a French ohef. 



February 8th. — This is essentially the month of forced 

 bulbs — ^Hyacinths, Tulips, Jonquils, Narcissuses — charm- 

 ing things in themselves, and within easy reach of everyone 

 who can afford to buy them either as bulbs in the autumn 

 or as cut flowers from the shops in spring. Bulbs do not 

 even require a greenhouse, as they can be grown in a 

 cellar and then in a frame, or, with care, quite as success- 

 fully in a room vsrith a south window. They depend on 

 attention, and the result is so certain that they are not 

 very interesting to the gardener, nor do they represent 

 any variety of greenhouse culture. AU the spring bulbs 

 are cultivated in much the same way. Any of the old 

 garden books published between 1840 and 1850, 

 especially Mrs. Loudon's 'Gardening for Ladies,' give 

 detailed instructions on the growing of bulbs in pots and 

 glasses, and in aU other ways. 



One of my great pleasures in London in the early 

 spring is going to the exhibition of the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society, at the Drill Hall, Westminster. I think aU 

 amateurs who are keen gardeners ought to belong to this 

 society — partly as an encouragement to it, and also 

 because the subscriber of even one guinea a year gets a 

 great many advantages. He can go to these fortnightly 



