AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
21 
struction of the plants. It is also very gratifying 
to an intelligent -visiter, in walking through a 
flower-garden, to know the varieties his friend 
cultivates, especially, if they bloom well ! 
iTou failed in preserving your roots through the 
Winter, just as many others have done. There 
.s no infallible method of Wintering them. The 
object to be gained is to keep the tubers from be¬ 
coming too moist or too dry. If they become too 
damp, they mold and rot; if too dry, they wither 
and perish. Burying in dry sand is highly re¬ 
commended ; packing them in bins with potatoes 
is also a good method. However treated, they 
should be thoroughly dried before storing them. 
To the Ladies —As it is our intention to de¬ 
vote considerable space to giving hints or sug¬ 
gestions of practical use to House-keepers, we 
shall be thankful for all the help possible. Dis¬ 
cussions of mooted questions, such as the rights 
and position of woman, etc., are less appropriate 
to these pages—our aim being to inculcate im¬ 
provements in the practical details of female la¬ 
bor, and a more intelligent understanding of the 
principles entering into many common opera¬ 
tions. Almost every lady has some mode of do¬ 
ing this or that kind of work which she knows is 
better than the usual method in vogue among a 
part, at least, of her immediate neighbors. The 
chances are that a knowledge of her practice 
would be useful to tens of thousands of families. 
No lady can spend a day with another,—even 
one she considers her inferior—without carrying 
home some useful hints. So no one giving her 
experience or practice in these columns can fail 
of conveying some new thoughts to many of the 
fifty thousand or more families visited by the 
Agriculturist. Let us have, then, your individual 
modes of conducting various household labors, 
and in this way all will be materially benefitted. 
Winter Flowers for the House- 
ORNAMENTAL CROCUS POTS. 
.just month, vol. XVII., page 371, we gave an 
engraving of the Hyacinth in a glass containing 
water, and now follow it up with various designs of 
earthen and wedge-wood ware, for the crocus and 
other bulbs, which are very beautiful and present 
a charming appearance when blooming in the 
house, or green-house during winter. 
Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 
l here is a great variety of these pots, only a few 
of which are here presented. They are usually 
found on sale at first-class seed-stores, and when 
purchased in the Fall or early Winter will be filled 
with bulbs at the prices below named, the same 
as if unfilled, since these bulbs are not very costly. 
Fig. 1 is a column made of earthen or wedge- 
wood ware—usually the latter. It is 12 to 14 
inches high, and 4 to 5 inches in diameter, and 
usually fluted, as shown in the engraving. It is 
in two parts—the column, and the base which 
serves as a saucer to contain water. 
Fig. 2 is an urn of common earthenware, 8 to 
Fig. 3. Fig. 4. 
12 inches in higlit. This is shown filled with 
soil, and the bulbs beginning to shoot out of the 
holes in the sides, and also from the earth at the 
top. This form retails at about 75 cents. 
Fig. 3 is quite an amusing form, that of a 
hedgehog, set in a trough or saucer, and quite re¬ 
sembles that animal when the bulb3 shoot out a 
few inches all over its surface. They are made of 
colored wedge-wood, with a rough, bristly sur¬ 
face. They vary in size and price, similarly to 
the bee-hive form. 
Fig. 4 goes by the name of a “ bellied pot.” 
The bulbs are planted at the apertures, and in the 
soil at the top. 
Fig. 5, the basket form, is quite common, and 
when varied upon the outside with white and blue 
colored checks or squares it is quite pretty. The 
saucers are made both separate and attached to 
Fig. 5. Fig. 6. 
the bottom of the baskets. They are also made 
with covers, as in fig. 5, or without them. The 
price depends upon the size, form, and quality of 
material—say from $2 to $5, and upward. All of 
these pots will, of course, last a lifetime, if not 
carelessly broken. 
Fig. 6 is very similar to fig. 5, the bail being 
omitted. It is usually of same ware as fig. 5, 
and sells for $1 to $2. 
Fig. 7 is one form of several little vessels for 
holding such small bulbs as snow'-drops, oxalis, 
etc. They are usually only two or three inches in 
diameter, and when made of porcelain or wedge- 
wood, cost but a few shillings. 
Fig. 8 is in the form of a straw beehive , set in a 
saucer, with a handle at the top. This form is 
usually made of wedge-wood, and of a variety of 
sizes, from the capacity of a quart to 10 or 12 
quarts, or larger; and the prices vary corres 
pondingly—say from $1.25 upward. 
We have engraved only a few of the prettier 
forms of bulb-pots—they may be made in an in¬ 
finite variety of shapes and sizes, and of various 
kinds of materials. Any one may even fashion 
one out of wood to suit his or her taste or conve¬ 
nience. All that is essential is a vessel to hold 
the earth, with a basin to hold water at the bot¬ 
tom, and £ to i inch holes for the bulbs to shoot 
through, scattered over the surface. A vessel 
with crocuses blooming at the side apertures, and 
a hyacinth or crown-imperial shooting up at the 
top makes a fine appearance. 
They are easily filled. Invert the vessel, when 
the larger opening is at the bottom, arrange the 
bulbs upon the holes, the sprouting end outward, 
and pack in the soil so firm that it will not 
fall out in turning over the pot. The best soil 
for bulbs is the compost described at page 
281 of our XVth volume—viz: a mixture of say, 
one part well rotted cow manure and one 
part of leaf mold from the woods, with two parts 
each of sand, muck, and fresh loam. The pro¬ 
portion is not material. A mixture of leaf mold 
and good garden soil, with as much of well rotted 
manure, will suffice. Cow droppings well decayed 
are preferable to other manure, being less odor¬ 
ous, and less exciting to the plants. 
Several varieties of crocus put into the same 
pot give a pleasing diversity of color to the bloom. 
They may be planted in the pots at different pe¬ 
riods as desired. The usual time is October to 
December. They may be prepared early in Octo- 
Fig. 7. Fig. 8. 
ber and placed in a cool darkroom in the cellar to 
get started, and then a portion at a time be brought 
to light and warmth to be developed into bloom at 
successive periods. They can be left in the open 
air quite late, as a light frost even will not injure 
them. Take them to the parlor, conservatory or 
green-house, watering moderately. Avoid too 
great a heat at first, but increase it gradually as 
they approach the blooming period, bearing in 
mind that their natural flowering season is in early 
Spring, before it is very warm. Much heat short¬ 
ens their period of bloom. Light is essential to 
their growth and flowering, and the pots need to 
be turned frequently to prevent their inclining to¬ 
ward the strongest light. 
—— --< - ^ ^ -•»-- 
About Coffee- 
[Continued from page 370, Vol. XVII.] 
In our previous article we described and illus¬ 
trated the coffee plant, and also the character 
and composition of the berry. Coffee is greatly 
adulterated which we shall refer to further on, 
but the majority of persons who have the best 
pure coffee, fail to get a really good infusion for 
the table. The aroma, upon which the good taste 
of coffee depends, is only developed in the berry 
by the roasting process, which also is necessary 
to diminish its toughness and fit it for grinding. 
While roasting, coffee loses from 15 to 25 per cent 
of its weight, and gains from 30 to 50 percent, 
in hulk. More depends upon the proper roasting 
than upon the quality of the coffee itself. One or 
two scorched or burned berries will materially 
injure the flavor of several cupfuls. Even a slight 
over-heating diminishes the good taste. 
The best mode of roasting, where it is done at 
home, is to dry it first in an open vessel until its 
color is slightly changed. This allows the mois¬ 
ture to escape. Then cover it closely and scorch 
it, keeping up a constant agitation so that no por¬ 
tion of a kernel may be unequally heated. Too 
low and too slow a heat dries it up without pro¬ 
ducing the full aromatic flavor ; while too great 
heat dissipates the oily matter and leaves only 
bitter charred kernels. It should be heated so as 
to acquire a uniform deep cinnamon color and an 
