BULBS AND SEEDS FOR AUTUMN, 1896, 







HYACINTHS. 



THE H% 

 popul 



acinth is usually given first place upon bulb-growers' and dealers' lists, because of its great 

 arity and consequent heavy sales. Its pretty flower spikes are an almost sure reward for 



perhaps a dozen different modes of culture, and yield them- 

 selves obligingly at any time properly planned for between 

 early December and late May. Planted outdoors, this is 

 one of oiu- earliest and loveliest spring flowers, while for 

 winter window culture it has become well nigh indis- 

 pensable to the house-gardener. It has colors and forms to 

 suit all tastes — rich, deep, dark tints of crimson, pvirple 

 and red, or soft tones of pink. blue, primrose, ivory or pure 

 white. The little Roman Hyacinth is, the perfection of 

 lightness and grace, while the taller, larger stocks of the 

 Dutch Hyacinths are often so much bent by their rich 

 burden of bells as to require staking. The fragrance of a 

 window full of Hyacinths would delight the soul of even 

 A; , -ff^^bii^^Sfr an Oriental. 



HTaeiiitlis iu Pots. — The Hyacinth is not particular as 

 to soil, but the best soil for them is a mixture of fibrous 

 loam and old, fine manure in about equal parts, with a 

 little sand added. Fill the pots with soil within an inch of 

 the top, and press the bulbs half way into it. Next water 

 them well, and set the pots away in a cool, dark place for 

 Y 'J, '}^.^^/^^ seven weeks, so that the bulbs may form good masses 



-^mn roots before the leaves begin to grow. It is better to 



plunge them in the open ground and cover the tops with 

 litter, or to stand them in rows, and cover them with a 

 heavy mulch that will keep them cool, moist and dark, 

 than to place them in a furnace-heated cellar in which fires 

 must be lighted soon. When the leaves begin to push up- 

 ward and the roots have had time to become strong, remove 



the bulbs to an un- 

 heated room above 

 freezing point, and 

 water them moder- 

 ately. A spoonful of 

 Excelsior, or some 

 other good flower- 

 food, scattered over 

 the surface of the 

 pots occasionally, 

 will make the flow- 

 ers and spikes larg- 

 er. When the buds 

 begin to open, the 

 pots can be used to 

 decorate the sitting 

 room, and by bring- 

 ing them in, a few 

 at a time, the supply 

 t£) of flowers can be kept up a 

 long while. In mild weather 

 give them all the fresh air possible, 

 and remember that the cooler and 

 moister the'air of the room in which 

 they are kept, the longer the flower-spikes will 

 last. Pretty contrasts are made by planting 

 pots, pans and boxes with varieties of different 



