BULBS FOR THE GREENHOUSE 39 



to their native element, the earth, good results can be 

 assured providing the bulbs themselves be good. This 

 brings us to another matter for consideration, viz., how 

 to choose imported bulbs. They should be bright 

 looking and free from blemish or mouldiness, firm 

 under pressure and, above all, heavy in proportion to their 

 size, for a weighty bulb may be depended on to have 

 good flowers stored inside it. 



Hyacinths, Tulips, Daffodils, Liliums, Narcissi, 

 Crocuses, and all bulbs of like nature intended for 

 the embellishment of the greenhouse, should therefore 

 be potted up as soon as received and encouraged to 

 make roots at once. Some among them have a decided 

 season of rest after flowering, but even these will have 

 had more than sufficient rest by the time they reach the 

 purchaser's hands. The soil in which they are grown 

 is in most cases quite a secondary matter, provided that 

 it is sweet, wholesome and sandy. In dealing especially 

 with some of the bulbous plants most suitable for green- 

 house culture, I will divide them into two sections, 

 taking first those which are usually imported annually, 

 and going on to those which may be made permanent 

 occupants of our houses, and which do not deteriorate 

 under home culture, as do those of the first section. 



Hyacinths. — The general treatment of the large flowered 

 Dutch Hyacinth and the charming little white Roman 

 Hyacinth is the same, but it must not be forgotten that, 

 while the latter may be forced readily and had in flower 

 at any time during the winter, the former does not take 

 kindly to being forced, and is rarely seen good until 

 March or April. Pot the larger kind singly into five-inch 

 or six-inch pots, and the Romans from three to five in 

 a five-inch pot. Good loam with a little manure and 

 plenty of sand makes a good mixture for them, and a 

 dash of clean sand should be placed immediately beneath 

 each bulb which should be so set in the soil that about 



