September, 1916 
T H E Cj a R D E N M a (x A Z I N E 
45 
ent variety for most, and the successful forcing 
of these bulbs is easily managed by the be- 
ginner. 
Tulips and Crocus are often a failure when 
the bulbs are set away to root in a cellar or 
closet, because during this period they require 
the slow development that depends on a low 
temperature. Burying them outside provides 
for this necessity. The Due Van Thol and 
early flowering Tulips, single or double, and 
the giant Crocus are best for forcing. 
HOW TO POT THE BULBS 
Earthen pans are preferable to pots, both for 
their look of neatness and the greater ease of 
handling. For their best appearance, the 
bulbs should be planted in groups instead of 
singly in either pots or pans. A 
six-inch pan will hold three or 
four Dutch Hyacinths or a half 
dozen of the bulbs of the Roman 
Hyacinth or of Tulips. It does 
not matter if the bulbs touch 
each other. 
In the bottom of each pan or 
pot, place a layer of charcoal 
broken in small pieces, and above 
this a stratum of sphagnum 
moss. Then fill to within one 
inch of the rim with potting-soil. 
Scoop out places for the bulbs, 
and put them into these without 
pressing them down into the 
earth. When bulbs find the soil 
beneath them too compact, as it 
may be made by pushing them 
down into it, they have a ten- 
dency to force themselves up- 
ward when they commence to 
throw out roots. It must be soft 
enough for the latter to pene- 
trate easily. Hyacinths should 
be set so that the neck of the 
bulb is above the surface of the 
soil. Tulips, Narcissus, and 
others of like size may be cov- 
ered about an inch. The soil 
should be filled in between the 
bulbs and over the sides of the 
Hyacinths and the tops of other 
sorts, pressing it slightly with the 
fingers, but not hard enough to 
force down the bulbs. Then they 
should be thoroughly watered. 
WHERE TO STORE THE BULBS 
If one have a coldframe or a 
spent hotbed not needed for 
other uses, either is a good place 
in which to set away the bulbs, 
provided its situation be shady 
in autumn. The soil should be 
removed to a depth of ten or 
twelve inches, and a layer of 
coal-ashes an inch deep should he spread, upon 
which the pots or pans shall stand, d'hen sand 
or loam — preferably the first — should be filled 
in between these, and they should he covered 
with the soil to a depth of several inches. The 
glass should not be placed above them until 
the ground has frozen to a crust. 
But there are those who have no coldframes, 
or if they have them, are using them for Pan- 
sies or Canterbury Bells and Foxgloves. Let 
these, less happy, dig a trench or a shallow pit 
near a high board fence or building, where the 
bulbs will be sheltered from the prevailing 
winds of winter, and yet will not be menaced 
by the drip from eaves or the accumulation of 
water flowing down to them from a higher 
level. And it must not be in full sun. It is 
Lake Erie, we have sometimes had our coldest 
days in December. .'\s a rule, I expect to 
bring in these bulbs not later than the middle 
of that month. One may take the first hard 
freeze as a warning. 
It is well to place these pots by themselves in 
the pit or coldframe, and to “make note 
on’t” as to the location, unless one’s memory 
be uncommonly trustworthy. Care must he 
taken when taking up bulbs not to break the 
pots or injure top growth, if made, hy a too 
strenuous use of the implement employed in 
their removal. 
If one live in a region of clay or clay loam, 
the “plunging” — for this is the technical term 
— of the bulbs will not be so easily accom- 
plished as in a garden of the good sandy loam 
that every one wants but so 
few possess. However, he can 
find a way, even if he cannot 
afford the purchase of a load of 
sand for the purpose. Let him 
dig the trench a little deeper; 
then place a thick layer of dead 
leaves, say from four to six 
inches deep, over the pots, and 
then fill in with the clay loam or 
clay, around and above them. 
If the heavy soil be placed di- 
rectly above the pots, when top 
growth is made the sprouts arc 
likely to be injured. They will 
probably choose the line of least 
resistance, and this may lead 
them to shoot out at an angle of 
forty-five degrees instead of 
keeping strictly to the perpen- 
dicular. I have found this true 
of Narcissus especially when left 
outside the same length of 
time as Hyacinths. I hey seem 
to make top growth more quickly 
than the latter, and unless they 
are brought into the house sooner 
than these, or have a thicker 
layer of leaves provided against 
their equally long stay, under 
soggy soil they are likely to de- 
part to some extent from the 
way they should go. 
TIME REQUIRED FOR ROOTING 
Paper White Narcissus can 
usually be brought in for forcing 
at the end of six or seven weeks; 
Roman Hyacinths require from 
six to eight weeks. Both of 
these are delightful for Christ- 
mas blooming. Three months 
is a sufficient time for such Nar- 
cissus as Van Sion, Orange 
Phoenix, Golden Spur, and other 
Trumpet varieties; the early 
flowering lulips require from 
eight to ten weeks; Dutch Hyacinths should 
have three months for best results, and four 
are still better if top growth can be sufficiently 
retarded. 
Dutch Hyacinths potted on the seventh of 
November last autumn, and set in a trench 
with protection from north and west wind, but 
without a mulch above the soil, were found just 
before the middle of March to have made an 
inch and a half of top growth. 1 hey had been 
outside during our severest weather when the 
temperature had frequently dropped into 
the neighborhood of zero. They developed 
well. 
Thaws, January or otherwise, must be taken 
advantage of for the purpose of removal from 
the place of storage. 
well to have the trench deep enough to have 
six or eight inches of space above the tops of 
the pans. Fill in with soil, as when the bulbs 
are stored within a frame, and in lieu of glass, 
cover with a mulch of dead leaves or strawy 
manure when the weather becomes very cold. 
The bulbs will require no further attention 
until they are ready to be brought into the 
house. Nature will take care of them as she 
does for those planted in the open ground. 
There will be no need of watering on the part 
of their foster-parent, the forcer, no necessity 
for investigation as to root growth, no worry 
about the temperature as when placed in a 
cellar, and no protection required against field 
mice if the mulch be not placed before the 
time indicated. 
When it is snowing outside in the early days of the year, it is pleasant enough to have the window 
gay with bulbs brought indoors to force. These were all handled in a city backyard 
Another great advantage in this out-of- 
doors storage is that all of one’s bulbs may be 
potted at once. A few may be brought in as 
wanted from time to time; the rest will be kept 
back simply by being left out in the cold. 
It must be remembered that Roman Hya- 
cinths and Paper White Narcissus cannot en- 
dure severe weather like the hardy Narcissus, 
Tulips, and Dutch Hyacinths. The former 
should be brought in and placed in a cool room, 
and by this I mean one where the temperature 
does not rise above forty-five degrees, though it 
must not fall below freezing point. How late 
one can leave Roman Hyacinths and Paper 
White Narcissus outside will be decided by the 
climate and the season. Ours is a climate of 
vagaries, and here on the southern shore of 
