6 



WM. C, BECKERT, ALLEGHENY, PA. 



FLOWERS FOR THE 

 HOUSE FROM 

 CHRISTMAS 

 UNTIL EASTER. 



colors, as blue and yellow, white and yellow, white and crimson, cream, orange and apricot-peach, etc. 

 A six-inch pot will hold three or four bulbs, according to their size; a four-inch pot is large enough for 

 O^S^^S^^S^-iS^^S^^S^O s^^&l^ bulbs. September, October and November are the months for potting 

 ^ Hyacinths. 



/• Hyacinths in Glasses.— For this method, fill the glasses with soft water, and 

 place the bulbs so that at the base they shall just touch the surface of the water. 

 r) Set them in a dark, cool room or closet 

 ^ for the first ten or twelve days, to start 

 0^iS>^^^^b j-oot growth; then give them all the 

 light and air possible, but never expose them to gas light, if 

 avoidable. Charcoal placed in the water will help to keep it 

 sweet, but it must be changed occasionally, the glass washed 

 out clean, and the root-fibres carefully 

 rinsed and reinserted. Keep the water 

 always touching tTie base of the bulbs; 

 never let it freeze. 



Hyacinths in the Open Gr round. — For 

 outdoor flowering, Hyacinths should be 

 planted in October or November, prefer- 

 ably the former month, as the sooner 

 they are in the 

 ground the better. 

 Be sure that the beds 

 or borders in which 

 they are planted are 

 well drained, that 

 the situation is light 

 and sunny, and the 

 soil made rich and 

 porous. It is well 

 to raise the surface 

 of the bed a little 

 in the centre, so that 

 water will not stand 

 upon it in winter. 

 If the beds are laid 

 out in odd and pretty 

 shapes, the designs 

 chosen are simple 

 and elegant and the 

 mixture of colors 

 harmonious, the Hy- 

 acinth is capable of wonderful 

 lawn painting. Bulbs with 

 flowers all of the same color 

 naturalized in masses are also 

 striking and pretty. Wherever 

 planted, set them about 9 inches 

 apart each wa}^, and cover them 

 evenly about 3 inches deep; bulbs 

 planted or covered at uneven depths will 

 not bloom at the same time. Cover the 

 beds with a light mulch after freezing weather 

 comes on. 



