90 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



October, 1914 



cide and fertilizer and has a tendency to keep 

 the soil in the pots soft and moist when placed 

 on the surface. It should be applied as a 

 preventive of "green fly" when the pots are 

 brought to the rooms where the bulbs will 

 bloom. In the case of tulips, which these 

 pests find especially appetizing, it is better 

 to use it when potting them. 



I have known folks who thought it neither 

 a high crime nor a misdemeanor to take 

 surreptitious teaspoonfuls from the tobacco- 

 jar of a Certain Person, since it was done for 

 the welfare of the flowers. (And besides, it 

 is not good for Him to smoke so much). 



After the bulbs leave the cellar or dark 

 closet, the soil must be watered thoroughly 

 and as often as is necessary to keep it wet to 

 the point of saturation. The sphagnum moss 

 applied to the surface on potting, if retained, 

 helps to promote such a condition. 



Sometimes, the bulbs need staking. This 

 is more likely to be necessary when they are 

 subjected to the enervating effects of too 

 high a temperature, or to a strong light from 

 outside. The flower stalks grow tall at the 

 expense of strength, and need a prop in the 

 one case, and "draw" toward the window 

 in the second. 



I have found that a good deal of this 

 drawing takes place at night. The bulbs 

 will draw toward an electrolier if in the 

 same room at a little distance, or if in a dark 

 room opening into a lighted one ; or toward 

 an arc light outside after the house is dark. 

 Sometimes they can be gently pushed back 

 to erectness, but it is not easy to coax them 

 back to the perpendicular when they have 

 departed far from it. A light-proof closet 

 at night is a wise preventive measure for 

 bulbs likely to be so affected. 



These directions may sound as if forcing 

 were a difficult process, but it is as easy as 

 two and two are four if one will but re- 

 member the essentials: — 



i — To buy good bulbs. 



2 — To procure suitable potting soil. 



3 — To provide perfect drainage. 



4 — To allow plenty of time for root-growth. 



S — Not to water too much during this period. 



6 — To bring them gradually to the light. 



The two bulbs most easily forced in soil 

 are in my opinion the white Roman hya- 

 cinths and the double narcissus, or daffodil, 

 Van Sion. The Roman hyacinths may be 

 potted every two weeks up to the middle 

 of December for a succession of bloom. On 

 account of the ease and rapidity with which 

 they are forced, they make most desirable 

 Christmas presents. And what more de- 

 lightful gift can be prepared for the invalid 

 or for the worker in office or store than a 

 pan of these lovely things, in themselves a 

 message of love and though tfulness? And 

 what else so beautiful costs so little in effort 

 or money? 



The double daffodils, faintly fragrant, 

 make a delightful Easter gift. These, too, 

 may be potted for succession. I have 

 placed them in soil as late as the eighteenth 

 of January. All bulbs reserved should be 

 kept in a cool dry place, wrapped in thick, 

 dark papers. Sprouted bulbs will not give 

 good results. 



BULBS AFTER FORCING 



What to do with the bulbs after they have 

 bloomed is a question that vexes the soul 

 of the flower-lover, especially if it is an 

 economical soul. 



Few of them are worth keeping, for they 

 cannot be depended upon to force again. 

 Most of them should go to the compost 

 heap, but the hyacinths, the Van Sion, and 

 trumpet narcissus may be allowed to ripen 

 their leaves as they stand in the pots, when 

 they should be removed from the soil and 

 stored in a cool, dry place until October. 

 They can then be planted in some incon- 

 spicuous place in the garden, and in the 

 course of time, recovering from the strain 

 put upon their constitutions by forcing, they 

 will brighten some quiet corner with blos- 

 soms, not so fine as they once put forth, but 

 still worth having. 



FREESIAS, CAPE BULBS 



The freesia has graceful and very fragrant 

 blossoms. Every one wants a pot or two, 

 holding from six to a dozen, for the sake of 

 their delectable perfume. These bulbs, 

 also, are adapted to potting for succession. 

 Their culture differs in two important partic- 

 ulars from that of the Dutch bulbs. Unlike 

 them, the freesia when potted should be 

 taken directly to the light, and though it 

 demands a cool place, it needs plenty of 

 sunshine, without which it becomes spind- 

 ling. 



BULBS IN WATER 



The Chinese and golden sacred lilies, the 

 paper white, and other polyanthus nar- 

 cissus are the ones most commonly grown in 

 water. The double daffodil, Van Sion, and 

 the named varieties of crocus are also amen- 

 able to such treatmnt. 



All brown and discolored skin should be 

 removed from the bulbs. Gash the Chinese 

 and golden sacred lilies half an inch deep, 

 making three or four lengthwise scorings. 

 A sharp paring knife will serve for the opera- 

 tion. One must be careful not to cut deep 

 enough to reach the embryo in the 

 bulb. 



Place from three to six bulbs in a shallow 

 glass bowl — the less pretentious the better — 

 and use pebbles enough to keep them steady 

 with a few pieces of charcoal, and sufficient 

 water nearly to fill the bowl, leaving the 

 necks of the bulbs above the surface. The 

 process of sprouting seems to cause some 

 shift in position ; therefore use plenty of the 

 pebbles, which may be bought at the seeds- 

 man's. Set the bulbs in a dark closet, and 

 add more water as evaporation makes it 

 necessary. When the tops are two or three 

 inches high, the bulbs are likely to be ready 

 for the light. 



It is as needful for these bulbs to make a 

 good root-growth, if one is to have fine 

 flowers, as for those grown in soil, although 

 not so long a time is required for the process. 

 Therefore, leave them in the dark from two 

 to four weeks, according to the temperature 

 of the closet. 



The golden sacred lilies are supposed to be 



the slowest of all in starting roots, but I 

 found that the gashing not only greatly 

 facilitated this, but that the top growth was. 

 much more vigorous for that preliminary, 

 each bulb throwing up two or three strong 

 shoots; and the flowers were fine. These 

 bulbs were kept in the dark for two weeks. 

 At the end of another fortnight, they began 

 to bloom; the close of a third brought the 

 finis of their blossom time. A bowl of six 

 mixed polyanthus narcissus, among which 

 there proved to be two of the golden sacred 

 lilies, subjected to precisely the same con- 

 ditions with the exception of gashing, turned 

 out to be not nearly so good. Another year, 

 I shall administer this treatment to paper 

 white narcissus. These bulbs, not gashed, 

 but placed in the same dark closet with the 

 sacred lilies for two weeks, produced very 

 inferior flowers, and investigation later 

 showed poor root growth. 



American Rose Society 



TEST GARDENS — THE HUBBARD MEDAL 



ONE VERY gratifying part of the pro- 

 ceedings at the meeting at Boston on 

 August, 20th was the presentation to 

 M. H. Walsh of the Gertrude Hubbard 

 Memorial Medal in gold. This is to be 

 awarded every five years to the raiser of 

 the best American rose within that period. 

 Mr. Walsh received the first award of this 

 medal on account of Excelsa, the crimson 

 red Wichuraiana hybrid climber which, 

 for the world at large, is everything that 

 Crimson Rambler is and a good deal more. 

 Excelsa has persistent glossy foliage; the 

 color does not fade to a bluish cast, and it 

 is a rampant grower of the general vigor 

 of the group to which it belongs. 



A silver medal of the society was 

 awarded to John Cook for Radiance (H. 

 T.), which was characterized by President 

 Pierson as the finest Hybrid Tea rose in 

 our gardens to-day. 



A report was made on the organization 

 of Test Gardens in cooperation with the 

 society, and it was decided to appoint a 

 local committee of three members for each 

 garden established or to be established. 

 These local committees to be under the direc- 

 tion of a general Test Garden Committee of 

 three to be composed thus : One member of 

 the Society's Executive Committee; one 

 amateur rose grower; one to be appointed 

 by the President. The object of these test 

 gardens, located in various parts of the 

 country, is to derive accurate information 

 on the behavior of the same variety under 

 different conditions with a view of ultimately 

 being able to present to the rose growing 

 public accurate reports for each locality. 

 The movement started two years ago, and 

 at the present time there are four trial gar- 

 dens established as follows: Elizabeth Park, 

 Hartford, Conn.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Cor- 

 nell University, Ithaca, N. Y.; Arlington 

 Farms, Dept. Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C. The American Rose Society does not 

 assume any responsibility for these gardens, 

 but cooperates in gathering together any 

 codifying result of the individual gardens. 



