48 



THE ELOWEE GAEDEN. 



Tulip-beds are made much in the same way, and com- 

 posed of nearly the same materials, as those for hyacinths. 

 A trench four feet wide, or thereabouts, is dug out ; a 

 few inches' depth of shingle is laid at the bottom, to 

 insure drainage, if the subsoil is clayey, and the rest is 

 filled w T ith a compost of fresh loam, leaf-mould, river 

 sand, and the well-rotted dung of ruminant animals, 

 when such is to be procured, all thoroughly and previously 

 incorporated together. Much mystery has been made 

 about special and incomparable receipts for the ingre- 

 dients, and their proportion, in a tulip-bed ; but it may 

 be suspected that these important formulae contain a 

 certain amount of quackery. The soil of a tulip-bed 

 should be renewed every year ; it will still serve for the 

 culture of other flowers. The bed should be raised an 

 inch or two above the level of the ground, and slightly 

 raised in the middle. The beginning of October is a 

 good time to plant. Draw parallel lines, with a cord, 

 six inches apart, along the bed, and cross them with lines 

 at right angles, also six inches apart. At the points 

 where these cross, the bulbs can be gently pressed into 

 the soil just deep enough to keep them standing upright. 

 Some amateurs previously arrange the order in which the 

 tulips are to be placed, so that they correspond in the 

 bed either with a numbered plan, or with the compart- 

 ments in the store-boxes. When the bed is thus covered 

 with bulbs, and it is seen that all is right, lay additional 

 soil over them mth the hands, till they are covered to the 

 depth of from four to five inches. The earth must be 

 kept up at the edges of the bed either with thick turfs 

 laid edgewise, with the grass outside, or with a border of 

 stone or earthenware. The former, clipped close, makes a 

 pleasing frame to the bed ; the latter are less liable to 

 harbour slugs, snails, and worms. It is better thus to 

 heap earth over the bulbs, than to plant them with the 

 trowel or dibble ; because the soil, remaining free from all 

 compression, is more readily penetrated by the root-fibres. 

 During frosts and heavy rains, the beds should be covered 

 by canvass or matting sustained by hoops. As the leaves 



