HARDY BULBS AND TUBERS. 
265 
of decayed vegetable manure and grit with the upper spit, but 
no manure. Manure, be it understood, must never come in 
contact with the bulbs. At the end of October or early part 
of November, plant your bulbs 6 to 8in. apart and 4in. below 
the surface. In the case of choice bulbs a little silver sand 
should surround each bulb. After planting the beds may be 
covered with a mulch of decayed manure or cocoanut-fibre 
refuse. Nothing remains to be done till spring, when the 
heaviest spikes may need to be supported by a neat stake. 
When the bulbs have ceased flowering and their space is 
required for summer plants, lift the bulbs carefully and then 
replant them close together in rows elsewhere to complete 
their growth. About the middle of July the foliage will have 
died and the bulbs can be lifted, dried in an airy shed, and 
stored in shallow boxes till planting time. Such bulbs must 
not be expected to flower so finely as newly imported ones, so 
new bulbs should be procured annually for choice positions 
and the others used for borders or beds of less importance. 
Bulbs that have been grown in pots may be ripened off, dried, 
stored and replanted in the autumn. On well-drained soils 
Hyacinths will flourish for many years if left in the ground. 
In purchasing bulbs the best results will be obtained by order- 
ing what you require from a first-class dealer and paying a 
good price for them. Cheap collections rarely give 
satisfaction. In addition to the tedding Hyacinth 
there are two species worthy of culture, and these are H. 
amethystinus (Spanish Hyacinth), bearing blue flowers in 
May and June, and its white variety alba; also H. azureus, a 
species which bears azure-blue flowers in conical heads early 
in February. The former should be grown in large clumps 
in the flower borders, or massed in the turf or woodland 
border, and the latter in beds on the rockery where its early 
blooms can be protected from severe frost, rain and winds by 
a handlight. Plant the bulbs of H. amethystina 3 to 4m. 
deep and the same distance apart, and those of H. azureus 3m. 
and 2in. apart. The bed in the latter case may be carpeted 
with Hutchinsia alpina or Hemiaria glabra. In both cases 
leave the bulbs undisturbed. ^Hyacinths are propagated by 
seed and offsets, but the results of rearing bulbs thus is not 
satisfactory in this country. Far better bulbs can be pur- 
chased from Holland. The bedding Hyacinths have been 
derived from H. orientalis, and belong to the Lily order 
(Liliaceas). 
Iris. — Besides the perennial species described on p. 155 
in this work, there are also several very beautiful and interest- 
ing bulbous-rooted kinds. For example, there is I. alata, a 
native of S. Europe, growing about a foot high, and bearing 
