CONSER VA TORY PLANTS— UFA CINTHS. 



22 S 



good succession of these charming flowers may he had till the earlier forms of Dutch 

 hyacinths, also gently forced, are fit for the conservatory. For forcing purposes, what 

 are sold as miniature hyacinths or two-year-old bulbs are superior to larger, and because 

 older, more expensive bulbs. A few of the earliest to flower are Baron van Tuyll, Maria 

 Cornelia, Splendour, Blanchard, Grande Vedette, Gertrude, Princess Beatrice (one of the 

 best for forcing), General Pelissier, William I., Homerus, Norma, La Peyrouse, La Tour 

 d'Auvergne, and Ida. 



The first care of the cultivator should be to secure bulbs early and to have them 

 well rooted before forcing is attempted. 

 If they do not crowd the pots with 

 roots only feeble flower spikes need be 

 expected from forced bulbs. "With a 

 view to having a long succession of 

 flowers some cultivators divide their 

 stock of bulbs, potting a portion soon 

 after they are received, and others six 

 weeks or so later. Should the potting 

 be deferred a little too long, top-growth 

 having commenced before it is done, 

 there will be no satisfactory recovery 

 from the bad start thus made, and no 

 fine flowers obtained. Better, by far, 

 retard the bulbs in the pots or boxes 

 they are established in, than to run 

 any risks. These remarks apply to the 

 potting of bulbs generally. 



Good ordinary soil is suitable for 

 hyacinths and bulbs of all kinds, and if the base of each rests on sand this is supposed 

 to favour root-production. All things considered the 5-inch pot is the best size for both 

 Roman and miniature hyacinths, three or more bulbs, according to size, going into each 

 pot. Drain the pots, fill with soil (not too loosely), and in this make a cavity for the 

 reception of the bulbs, burying them so that only the neck just shows through the soil. 

 Next arrange the pots on a bed of ashes in the open, or if the locality is a wet one, in 

 cold frames. With the soil sufficiently moist when used no water will be needed ; 



Fig. 13c 



