An hepatica that is said to have flowers as large 
as a half dollar (H. angulosa), hardy and needs only 
two weeks to force into winter bloom 
about one inch in diameter. It is hardy 
and grows about a foot high. They only 
need about two weeks of heat to flower. 
All these perennials can be easily forced. 
In the fall the rootstocks store up enough 
food so that when potted for greenhouse 
cultivation it is necessary only to set them 
in a cool, dark place long enough for them 
to make sufficient root growth to supply 
the plant with moisture. 
A low temperature—so° at night—is 
sufficient, in fact, better than a higher one. 
Any good potting soil will suit them. 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
After these plants have been forced, grow 
them on, allowing them to make just as 
much growth as possible, and in April, 
when the ground can be worked, plant them 
in the open border. None of them, with 
the possible exception of the Christmas 
rose, will force well the second winter. The 
four perennials above mentioned are re- 
ceived early enough in the fall so that you 
can plant them outdoors if mulched. 
THE GORGEOUS AMARYLLIS 
The largest and most satisfactory red 
flower of winter is the amaryllis. The 
lily-like trumpets are four or five inches 
across, and come on stems eighteen inches 
or two feet high. November is rather late 
to start the common varieties, which can be 
gotten in October in the form of fresh bulbs 
grown in America from seed. But the best 
named varieties do not arrive from Europe 
until November, as the bulbs must be 
thoroughly ripened before crossing the ocean. 
Pot amaryllis bulbs as soon as received, 
in a rich soil like that suggested for the 
nerines and allow them to lie dormant until 
about the first of the year when if they are 
good strong bulbs they will flower. The 
flowers come before the leaves and mark 
the end of the resting period. When the 
flowering period is over, the growing season 
commences. After all danger of frost is 
past plunge the potted plants out doors in 
coal ashes, soil, or anything else handy to 
NovEMBER, 1906 
prevent the rapid evaporation of water 
through the pots. Water about once a 
week with weak liquid manure. When the 
leaves begin to turn yellow it is a sign the 
bulbs are ripening. Gradually withhold 
water and when the bulbs are ripe store 
them in a cool dry place until the flower 
scapes begin to push out of the soil. 
One does not need a greenhouse to grow 
amaryllis, as all the growth can be made 
outdoors during the summer and then the 
pots stored in the cellar until they are ready 
to flower, which will be about January tst. 
THE BLUE AFRICAN LILY 
The blue African lily (Agapanthus wmbel- 
latus) ordinarily blooms in summer but can 
be had in flower at almost any time. It 
has many long, narrow, dark green leaves, 
from among which rises a stem two or three 
feet high, bearing a large cluster of very 
handsome blue flowers. The easiest way 
to handle it is to grow it in pots or tubs 
which are stored in a light cellar or other 
dry place during the winter (enough water 
being given to prevent the leaves from fall- 
ing); then put it outdoors during the summer 
and let it make its growth. Unlike the 
amaryllis it flowers with its leaves, which 
adds to its beauty. It is often forced in 
the early spring. The flowering season is 
controlled entirely by the resting period. 
The earlier you wish it to flower the earlier 
you dry it off. 
Massa- 
Raising Your Own Tulips—sy Luke J. Doogue, 2% 
AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT FOR AMATEURS WHO LIKE NEW THINGS AND CAN FOLLOW SUCH EXPERIMENTS FOR SEV- 
ERAI YEARS—A METHOD BY WHICH THE PUBLIC GROUNDS DEPARTMENT OF BOSTON SAVES HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS 
uO tulips are always con- 
sidered high-priced bulbs, and al- 
though the prices of quality tulips are bound 
to rise sharply, the general public will never 
care to raise its own bulbs. It takes too 
Making a bed of tulip offsets. 
The offsets have just been covered with two inches of loam. 
long and when you consider the ease and 
certainty with which bulbs in general bloom, 
it is cheaper to buy bulbs every year. In the 
Boston Public Grounds Department, where 
millions of bulbs are used annually, we have 
then be raked and a label will replace the stick 
The bed will 
demonstrated that thousands of dollars can 
be saved by growing our own tulips. And 
the amateur who likes to try new things and 
can follow up his experiments for three years 
will enjoy propagating his own tulips from 
offsets—not by seeds which takes several 
years and never come true. 
If you have a lot of old bulbs, separate the 
offsets from them this fall and grade all 
your bulbs and offsets roughly into three 
sizes. The largest, or original bulbs, 
will give first-class flowers next spring, the 
larger offsets the year after, and the 
smaller, in two or three years, depending 
on the care you give them. Almost every 
offset, no matter how small, will bloom 
next spring, provided you detach it from 
its parent, and these flowers will be sur- 
prisingly large considering the size of the 
offset. But no one wants small tulips and 
the object of this article is to explain how to 
get first-class flowers by growing small bulbs 
to the largest size in the shortest possible 
time. 
After sorting your bulbs, plant the three 
grades in separate beds. You need not use 
a dibble to plant the little ones. Sow them 
broadcast on a carefully prepared bed and 
cover them two inches deep with fine, mellow 
loam. If the soil for your beds is not rich 
