568 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



February or the beginning of March, until it is once more so dry 

 as not to clog the feet when walking over it. It should then be 

 hacked over at least 6 inches deep with a potato-hoe ; when 

 this is done drill out the whole piece in drills 18 inches 

 apart and 8 inches deep, and mark it out, by means of lines 

 across and at right angles to the drills, into beds of 4 feet 

 wide and with paths 2 feet in width. 



Commence planting by placing a corm against each line 

 and filling up the space with two, three, or four corms according 

 to their size. If the corms are very large, four in a row will be found 

 quite sufficient. When one bed is finished, cover in neatly with 

 a rake, remove the lines, and proceed to the next. 



Planting thus in beds is preferable, as it affords the cultivator 

 facilities for examining and tending individual spikes without 

 danger to the rest. 



In this way continue planting, at intervals of a fortnight, 

 from the end of February until the 20th of May, and you will 

 extend the succession of bloom from the commencement to the 

 end of the season, which is usually the end of November, unless 

 the flowers are previously destroyed by frost. 



The plants will require no attention until they commence to 

 show signs of blooming, except in keeping them quite free from 

 weeds. When signs of blooming are apparent stimulants may be 

 advantageously applied. I have for the last twenty years used a 

 preparation of my own, which I dissolve in water and apply about 

 once a week according to the state of the weather. Stakes will 

 now be necessary for any spikes specially required for exhibition, 

 and these when fixed in the ground should not reach higher than 

 the lowest bloom, as when a taller stake is used the flowers are 

 liable to be injured by friction against it. Mulching is also now 

 necessary — in the first place to keep down the weeds and secondly 

 to keep the ground moist. I formerly used rotten manure for this 

 double purpose, but find that straw-chaff is quite as efficacious, 

 and it is much nicer and cleaner to walk upon when tying or 

 cutting the spikes. 



If the weather should prove very dry during the season, a 

 liberal supply of water should be given, but some judgment is 

 required, particularly where the soil is of a clayey nature, as it 

 often happens that heavy watering or much rain followed by low 

 temperature causes the fibrous roots to perish, resulting in a 



