October, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



139 



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let me urge you to get pans instead. They 

 look prettier, enable you to get bigger mass * 

 effects and are not so heavy to move around. 

 How many bulbs to put in a six-inch pan 

 is told in this list: 



Hyacinths are best for February and March ; Romans 

 can be had November to March 



The modern concrete cellar with a furnace 

 in it is too warm, dry and light for holding 

 back bulbs. The best plan is to make a pit 

 by sinking a bottomless box three or four 

 inches into the ground and excavating to a 

 depth of eighteen inches. It is a cheap and 

 easy affair to make because you do not need 

 any glass. The Garden Magazine tells 

 just how to do it in Volume IV on page 198 

 (November 1906). 



Of the Cape bulbs the most popular are 

 freesias and these can be had for Christmas 

 if started in August. The only Cape bulbs 

 you can have for Christmas by starting now 

 are Bermuda buttercups, known to the trade 

 at Oxalis hitea. Cape bulbs are smaller 

 and harder to grow than Dutch bulbs and 

 the plants usually rot off at the surface be- 

 cause people water them too much before 

 they come into bud. The best way to grow 

 Cape bulbs is to start them in a pit or deep 

 coldframe and bring them indoors about 

 New Year's day. 



The best way to get a good root growth 

 from Cape bulbs is to buy them early in Sep- 

 tember, pot them at once and leave them 

 outdoors in a cool, shady place until the 

 leaves begin to push up through the soil. 

 Then put them in a deep coldframe or pit. 

 Such a structure must have a glass top. It 

 is not enough to keep out frost and ventilate. 

 You must have light for the Cape bulbs. If 

 you can't afford this, put your Cape bulbs 

 in a room where the temperature does not 

 exceed 50 , if you have such a room. But 

 the sash costs only $3 and you can make the 

 rest of the coldframe out of old lumber. 

 There are many other things you can do with 

 it and it need not be a trouble. 



It does not matter if the frames cannot be 

 opened oftener than once in three or four 

 days during the coldest and dullest weather, 

 but it is not advisable to let ventilation go 

 longer than this. 



If you haven't already bought flower pots 



Crocus 6 



Hyacinth, 



Roi 



nan 



6 



Freesia 9 



Ixia 







6 to 9 



Hyacinth, named 3 



Narcissus 







3 to 5 



Hyacinth, miniature 5 



Oxalis 







9 



Tulip 



6 









Eight-inch pans are more effective for the 

 large bulbs and six-inch pans for the small 

 ones. Try ten tulips, ten narcissi or eight 

 hyacinths in an eight-inch pan. Many 

 people like to grow hyacinths singly in five- 

 inch hyacinth pots which are an inch and a 

 half deeper than ordinary flower pots. 



There is altogether too much written about 

 potting soils. Don't get the notion that it is 

 a complicated subject with a special formula 

 for every different flower. The standard 

 compost used everywhere for nearly all the 

 important plants is three parts loam, one of 

 leaf mold and one of sand. Leaf mold is 

 not essential to bulb culture but it always 



One month's root growth of a Roman hyacinth. 

 Ready to bring into warmth and light 



adds humus, improves the texture, enables 

 the soil to hold more moisture. 



How to pot a bulb is shown by the pictures 

 on page 138. First provide drainage. Broken 

 pots are better than stones because you can 

 arch a curved fragment over the hole in the 

 bottom of the pot to keep it from getting 

 plugged up with earth. Also potsherds have 

 a good deal of plant food in them if they 

 have been used for growing plants. Put in 

 one or two rather large pieces at the bottom 

 and then fill in to a depth of half an inch 

 with fine bits or small stones or clinkers. 



Next spread a thin layer of sphagnum moss 

 over the drainage and put in a layer of soil 

 about one and one-half inches deep. On this 

 soil put a little sand — say a one-eighth-inch 

 layer. Then put in your bulbs and cover 

 them with more soil to within one-half or 

 three-quarter inches of the top — except 

 hyacinths, in which case a third of the bulb 

 wants to be above the surface. You want 

 at least half an inch at the top of a pot for 

 watering. Otherwise you may get dirty 

 water on the floor. 



A very pretty method of growing bulbs is 

 to put them in clean sand and water. In this 

 way there is no danger of soiling curtains, 

 carpets or rugs. It is the most practical way 

 of raising flowers in city flats. The scheme 

 works best with Chinese sacred lily, Paper 

 White narcissus and Roman hyacinths. You 

 can't expect to raise as big flowers of tulips 

 and hyacinths as you can if you give them soil. 



Among the favorite varieties of tulips for 

 forcing are Prosperine, Yellow Prince, Chry- 

 solora, La Reine and Rose Grisdelin. Double 

 tulips will not force successfully until later 

 in the season; start them in February. 



Good varieties of daffodils for early forcing 

 are spurius major, cernuus, rugilobus, Hors- 

 fieldi and Sir Watkin. Specific directions 

 for forcing daffodils will be found in the 

 article of Mr. Kirby, page 20 of the August 

 Garden Magazine. 



The easiest plant to grow in pure water is 

 the Chinese sacred lily, but you must be 

 careful not to let a cold draught strike the 

 buds or they will blast. Get a shallow bowl 

 and put in enough prettily colored pebbles 

 to hold the bulb in position. 



To grow hyacinths in glasses select only 

 the named single varieties that are specially 

 recommended for this purpose. Use soft 

 rain water. Put in a few bits of charcoal. 

 See that the base of the bulb is always in 

 contact with the water and don't let the water 

 rise much above the base of the bulb. Keep 

 the glasses in a cool, dark, well ventilated 

 place until the roots reach the bottom* 

 of the glass. Then bring them into light 

 and warmth. Don't put them near a gas 

 jet, especially one that leaks. Move them 

 away from the windows on very cold nights. 

 Change the water every few days. The 

 patent glasses make this operation easier. 

 Add two or three drops of ammonia once a 

 week to the water. 



Finallv, don't forget that red is the color 

 the people want at Christmas time. The 

 onlv red flowered bulb you can force for 

 Christmas is red Due Van Thol tulip. 



