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THE FLORAL WORLD 



HOW I PLANT BULBS 



I have a bank, against a piazza and 

 another where the ground is terraced 

 off. Four years ago the last of Octo- 

 ber I dug some well rotted manure in, 

 made a trench four inches wide and 

 six deep, put in one inch of sand, set 

 the bulbs on the sand, put a little 

 around them, then filled in the earth 

 and rounded it to keep out water after 

 the ground froze. I covered with 

 leaves and laid on pine boughs to keep 

 the' leaves from blowing away. I set 

 out a few new ones every fall, spread 

 on dry the manure and mix it a 

 little with the earth. I do not think 

 that I ever lost a bulb. Every spring 

 they are full of blossoms, double and 

 single. After they are done blooming 

 I set out petunias or any plants that 

 do not have deep roots, and have 

 flowers the rest of the summer. 



Mrs. J. M. Fowle. 



Massachusetts. 



HYACINTH CULTURE 



If those who are debating in their 

 minds whether or not to plant hya- 

 cinths this fall could only once see my 

 hyacinth bed in bloom, and know how 

 easily it is managed, I am sure they 

 would hesitate no longer. My bed is 

 twenty-four feet long by eighteen feet 

 wide, and it was planted more than 

 eight years ago. In all that time the 

 bulbs have never been taken up nor 

 reset, and their wealth of fragrant, 

 beautiful blossoms grows, if possible, 

 more abundant and gorgeous with each 

 returning spring. Before planting the 

 soil was well forked up and gotten into 

 fine condition. The bed was then laid 

 off in rows four inches deep and eight- 

 een inches apart. The last of October 

 the bulbs were planted, each one 

 placed firmly in the rows nine inches 

 apart, the soil drawn over them and 

 slightly packed. Later on, just before 

 freezing weather, a compost of hen 

 house manure and wood ashes — one- 



third ashes and two-thirds manure — 

 was spread thickly over the bed. The 

 following spring this dressing was 

 well worked into the soil, care being 

 taken to hoe between the rows in order 

 not to disturb the plants that were 

 just beginning to peep above the 

 ground. Every fall I give my bed this 

 dressing, following it in the spring 

 with the working, and this is all the 

 attention it receives for its thousands 

 of handsome stalks of beautiful flow- 

 ers that delight all who see them. For 

 years I have had growing side by side 

 the double purple, double pink, double 

 white and single yellow, and they are 

 just as perfect in color and size as 

 when first planted. 



Tennessee. Mrs. H. C. Ryall,. 



EXPERIENCE WITH HYACINTHS 



My first experience with hyacinths 

 was in the '80's, and was almost a 

 failure, as some of the blossoms had 

 stems an inch or two long, while 

 others blossomed close to the dirt. I 

 did not get discouraged, but kept try- 

 ing, and for years I have had lovely 

 blossoms with long stems. I used to 

 think the flowers pictured in cata- 

 logues were exaggerated, but I know 

 they were not from experience, as I 

 have had them equally as nice. Plant 

 the bulbs in September or the first of 

 October, in good garden soil and chip 

 dirt, equal parts. Fill the pots with 

 dirt, leaving room at the top to place 

 the bulbs, then cover, leaving the cen- 

 ter of the bulb uncovered; never press 

 the bulbs in the dirt, as when they 

 sprout they will be apt to throw the 

 bulbs on top of the pots. After plant- 

 ing place the pots in a pail of water, 

 with the water just at the rim of the 

 pots; leave them till the water has 

 penetrated the dirt on the top of the 

 pots, take out and drain, then place 

 in a dark place in the cellar, leave 

 there till the sprouts are an inch long, 

 no matter if you can see the buds, bring 

 them upstairs, place them back from 



