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BARR & SONS, 11, 12 & 13 King Street, Covent Garden, London. 
PRACTICAL HINTS ON BULB CULTURE. 
Culture for Spring-flowering Bulbs out of Doors. 
Proper Condition of Soil. — Plant bulbs only when the ground is in a nice friable state, and 
never when the soil is wet and sticky ; in such cases plant later when the soil is in a good friable condition. 
After digging or trenching, the ground should be allowed to settle at least ten days before planting. 
Depth to Plant. — Failures with bulbs are most frequently due to their having been planted too 
deeply or too shallow. A good general rule to follow is to cover the bulb with soil once and a half 
to twice its own depth, measuring the bulb from base to shoulder. Thus a daffodil bulb measuring two 
inches from base to shoulder should be covered with three to four inches of soil. The principal ex- 
ceptions to this rule are Crocuses, which prefer shallow planting, and Erythroniums, Snowdrops and 
Tulips, which require deeper planting. We give special directions for these bulbs in body of Catalogue. 
Manure for Bulbs. — The ammonia in fresh stable manure is fatal to bulbs and is often the cause 
of failure in growing Tulips, Daffodils, etc., therefore only well-decayed stable or cow manure, or the 
material from an exhausted hot-bed, should be used, and then we recommend Vaporite (see page 3i)being 
mixed with it so as to destroy any injurious insect life it may contain. The best general manure for all 
bulbs growing outdoors is our Phytobroma (which contains in suitable proportions Sulphate of 
Potash, Steamed Bone Flour, etc.) ; this should be forked into the ground at planting time at the 
rate of 3 oz. to the square yard, and a surface dressing of 3 oz. to the square yard applied early 
in spring (well hoed in) when top growth is showing. For heavy soils Basic Slag is good ; this 
should be put in the ground with the bulbs at time of planting at the rate of 7a oz. to the square 
yard. For light and sandy soils Crushed Bones can be recommended, put into the ground at 
time of planting at the rate of 2 oz. to the square yard. On hot dry and sandy soils, old stable manure 
(treated with Vaporite) may with advantage be used, to act as a sponge to hold moisture in the soil ; it 
should be dug in 15 to 18 inches deep, so as not to come in contact with the bulbs. In the case of 
bulbs which have not been lifted we recommend a top dressing (well hoed in) of PHYTOBROMA or 
Bone Flour in November and again in January or early February, at the rate of 3 oz. to the square yard. 
Price List of Manures will be found on page 3 1 . 
Top Dressing.' — Where possible, we advise a top dressing to all bulbs through the winter months 
of some light material such as long straw litter, cut heather, cut furze branches, or Peat-Fibre. The 
advantage of this light covering is that it keeps the surface soil sweet by preventing the heavy winter 
rains from beating down the earth’s crust ; it also protects any early top growth. 
Lifting and Replanting.— When bulbs are lifted they should not, if possible, be replanted on the 
same ground, but where other bulbs or plants have previously been growing : thus, where Tulips have 
been growing last season, plant Daffodils this autumn, and so on. 
Time to Plant. — We give this information under the heading of each family. 
Culture for Spring-flowering Bulbs in Pots or Boxes. 
Time of Potting.— September and October are the best months for potting most Spring-flowering 
bulbs. 
The best compost to use is a mixture of two-thirds good fibrous loam (which should be pulled to 
pieces by the hand, and not passed through a sieve') and one-third old decayed leaf soil, with a sprinkling 
of sharp silver sand, adding I lbs. of bone meal or 1 lb. of Phytobroma to every bushel of soil, which mix 
well together before using. In all cases the soil used should be fresh and sweet ; never pot in soiMhat is 
wet or sticky . Our Peat-Fibre, Shell and Charcoal Mixture (see page 3 1 ) may also be used ; it is light 
and cleanly to handle, and is a suitable medium for growing all kinds of spring-flowering bulbs in pots or 
vases, either for indoor decoration or for cutting. 
Sterilising Soil. — In order to destroy all injurious insect life it is a good plan to sterilise potting 
soil before adding the Phytobroma or bonemeal. We recommend for this purpose the Konijine Soil 
Steriliser, or small quantities of soil can be easily sterilised in a sack by pouring over it a large kettle 
of boiling water and then spreading out the soil to dry. This will prevent a great deal of after trouble 
from worms or insects attacking the bulb roots. 
The pots should be carefully washed and allowed to dry before using; new pots should be well 
soaked. Never pot in dirty or wet pots. 
Good drainage should be secured by placing three or more pieces of charcoal (in preference 
to broken crocks) over the drainage hole, covering the charcoal or crocks with a little rough fibre from 
the loam. When boxes are used, the slit at bottom of box should be covered with pieces of charcoal, 
and a good layer of rough fibrous loam or leaf soil placed at bottom of box to ensure perfect drainage. 
Covering the Bulbs.— The larger bulbs need not be quite covered with soil, the level of which 
should be half an inch below the rim of the pot, to allow of watering when the bulbs are in growth. 
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