D. M. FERRY & CO., DETROIT, MICH. 



HYACINTHS 



All Hyacinths are well adapted 



to pot culture^ open 



beds or borders 



The Hyacinth is so well and so favorably known that any description of it or any 

 statement of its merits would be superfluous. Through centuries of careful cultivation 

 and selection it has been brought to a state of perfection which will scarcely be improved 

 in any great degree. It succeeds well in the house and garden, adorning both with the 

 varied colors and delicious fragrance of its showy flowers. Its culture is very simple, 

 and if attention is paid to the following directions, failure is almost impossible. 



Pot Culture in the House —Plant from September 

 to December in rich, sandy loam, in four or five inch 

 pots, inserting the bulb so that its top will be just below 

 the surface. Do not pack the soil in the pots, as 

 the bulbs wall be much less likely to push out when 

 the root growth commences if the soil is loose. A 

 splendid mass effect may be had by planting a 

 ^ considerable number of bulbs in a flat or win- 



dow box, all the bulbs should be of the same 

 "^ " ^ i|j|\ variety to insure blooming together. 



Water thoroughly and set the pots or 

 boxes away in a cool, dark place for 

 several weeks. If cold coffee is 

 used occasionally instead of water, 

 it will often increase in intensity 

 the coloring of the flowers. Keep- 

 ing in the dark will allow the roots 

 to grow and become firmly fixed 

 in the soil, when the plants can be 

 brought into the light, and will at 

 once commence the top growth. 

 By bringing the pots into the light 

 at different times, something of a 

 succession of bloom may be had. 

 During their growth they should 

 be kept near the light and at a 

 temperature of 50 to 70 degrees, 

 and w^atered frequently. \\^here 

 good garden soil is not readily pro- 

 curable bulbs can be very satisfac- 

 torily grown in sphagnum moss. 

 A small quantity of some good fer- 

 tilizer may be used. 



Out=Door Culture in Beds or 

 Borders. — The bulbs may be 

 planted almost any time from Oc- 

 tober until the ground is frozen 

 solid, but it is advisable to pur- 

 chase early, before our stocks are de- 

 pleted. They succeed in any good, 

 well drained, garden soil, which should 

 be well spaded, and will be better if some 

 well rotted manure is mixed through it. 

 Set the bulbs so that the tops will be be- 

 tween three and four inches below the sur- 

 face, and six to ten inches apart. Pack a 

 little sand under and about them if it is con- 

 venient, being careful that none of the manure 

 comes in direct contact wnth the bulbs. 

 Before \-&xy severe weather comes on it is advisable to 

 cover the beds with straw, leaves or manure, to protect 

 them from severe cold during winter, but care should be 

 Single Hyacinth. taken that this covering is not to thick and dense, as the 



bulbs are as likeU' to be injured by being kept to warm as by freezing. The covering should be 

 removed as early in the spring as severe freezing is over and growth commences. 



If the bulbs are taken up after thej- become well ripened and are stored in a cool, dry place they will 

 bloom the next sea.son, but the difficulty of keeping them at the right temperature and moisture is so 

 great in our climate that we cannot recommend the attempt. If they are left in the ground they will 

 ordinarilv produce some inferior flowers the next year. In most cases it will be more satisfactory to 

 secure a fresh stock of large, finely grown bulbs each season. 



