ULTUR^- 
CRURAL 
iC(JLTURE,H2 
EXCELSIOR 
•If 1’nrlt How, New York 
82 llullnln Hi., HoclieNior. 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, OCT. 29,1870 
| Kntorcd nccordiriK to Act of Congress, In the year 1870, by D. D. T. MOORE. In the office of the Librarian ot Congress, at Washington.] 
tlesnako fern, ( Botrychium Virginimm ,) and 
the Asplenium trichomanes. Lycopodiums — 
commonly known as Club Moss and Prince’s 
Pine, make themselves very much at home, 
and I never omit the Rattlesnake Plantain 
((foody era rep&ru) with its pretty blue-green 
leaves netted with silver. 
For flowers l secure roots of the Liver¬ 
wort, (/bpatica triloba,) Bishop's Cap, (Tia- 
relict ,) Solomon’s Seal , (Conmllaria bifolia,) 
bulbs of the Squirrel corn, ( Dicentm,) and a 
few bulbs of the Adder’s Tongue, for the 
sake of its mottled leaves. 
These roots I keep in the cellar till I need 
them to take the place of those which have 
blossomed. I cover the top of the earth 
with mosses, often finding curious mossy 
twigs, place among the plants, anti whatever 
is lacking, 1 have plenty of the MitcheUa re- 
pens —Partridge Berry—to brighten by its 
scarlet fruit; and to furnish Its pairs of dain¬ 
ty white velvet flowers late in the winter. 
I water the plants after they are arranged, 
and then let them alone. If anything molds, 
I give air daily till the quantity of moisture 
is reduced. 
With a flourishing case, of plants, there 
should be from ten to fifteen large drops of 
water upon the upper glass each morning. 
The case should be before a window—a 
north window is best. If placed before, a 
south window, it will need shade in the mid¬ 
dle of the day. 
For a few weeks after starting, one needs 
to keep a sharp lookout for snails, which 
hatch and eat the leaves unless extermi¬ 
nated. Various creeping things will awake 
prematurely to a new life, and will afford 
both amusement and instruction. Tiny 
spiders will weave their webs, bronze flics 
in brave green caps dart out and in among 
the ferns, scarlet bugs peep out of' the moss 
like tiny flecks of bloom, and with the mi¬ 
croscope these guests afford additional 
pleasure. 
One great trouble about keeping house 
plants is, that they must be removed from 
the window when they take their sprinkle, 
or else one must put up with sprinkling 
whatever they stand upon. A shallow zinc 
box placed in the window docs away with 
this discomfort. Set the pots in the box, 
fill for about two inches in depth with moss, 
and around the edge plant Ferns, ivies or 
Moneywort. A tin clothes sprinkler can be 
i used for the plants, and the scattering drops 
I nourish the moss. The front side of the 
many of the different 
species could not be 
kept up to the origi¬ 
nal standard if given 
proper care; but as 
this is merely a ques¬ 
tion of economy, we 
will accept of the 
bulbs found in mar- \ 
ket, and plant them 
for the pleasure they 
yield us; beginning cj ylttw 
with the universally 
admired and unsur- | 
deep soil arc requi- / 
sites, almost ns lndis- Hj 
true that line blooms • ^ \) A 
good bulbs even with- 
keep the bulbs more 
than one season, a 
good rich soil should 
cayed sods and cow 
manure, also well- 
soils. The main thing 
is to make the bed 
rich, light and friable. 
Time of l’liimime. 
This will vary ac- % 
cording to climate, pfp 
but it is well to have A' 
the bulbs in the 
ground at least one 
month before they 
will bo frozen lip for passion ] 
winter. Tn the North¬ 
ern States the time will vary from the first 
of September to the middle of November. 
Depth to Plant. 
Hyacinth bulbs should be covered four 
inches deep. Tn some localities it is well to 
cover the surface of the bed with mulch in 
winter; but this should never be put on until 
the ground freezes. If applied before, field 
mice will find a safe harbor under it, and 
devour the bulbs. 
Varieties. 
AVhere there are so many really choice 
varieties, it would be useless to name the 
very best, as all of those offered by dealers 
in these bulbs are good and desirable. 
Tastes also differ; some persons prefer the 
double sorts, others the single; wo would 
advise planting both for the sake of contrast 
if nothing more. We give illustrations, one- 
half natural size, of a spike of each sort. 
IIouhh Culture. 
Hyacinths bloom very freely when forced 
in a conservatory or in any ordinary living- 
room, where the temperature does not fall 
below the freezing point. They may be 
planted in pure sand, moss, earth or water. 
The latter is the chief requisite to insure suc¬ 
cess. If grown in water, glasses made ex¬ 
pressly for this purpose must be used, as it 
will not do to immerse the bulb, but merely 
allow the base of the bulb to touch it. I )urk 
colored glasses are preferable to light, as the 
roots grow best in shade or utter darkness. 
Use rain water, and change it occasionally, 
to keep the roots healthy. When the flower 
spikes appear, place the bulbs where they 
early summer. The 
flowers of the double 
tulips are more lasting 
than the single, hut 
they are seldom of as 
handsome form. In 
the accompanying il¬ 
lustration, (see page 
28.7) a single and dou¬ 
ble tulip flower are 
shown, of medium 
size; also, a small 
spike of Soilla. 
Tulips, Scillas, Cro¬ 
cus and Snowdrops, 
should be planted 
about two or three 
inches deep, and at 
t h e same lime us 
hyacinths and other 
Spring flower bulbs. 
There are many other 
species of bulbous 
plants that are not 
o n 1 y desirable but 
should be planted in 
November. Among 
these we name the 
following as especial¬ 
ly worthy of atten¬ 
tion:— Jonquils and 
Narcissus in variety; 
C'olchimm autmnna- 
Us, Jr is, of many spe¬ 
cies a n d varieties, 
Crown Imperials, Ox- 
a l is, Kryt/ironiums, 
and hardy Gladioli. 
flerkultur* 
PASSIFLORA TRIFASCIATA, 
A mono the variegated foliaged plants of 
recent introduction none is more deserving 
of attention than the variegated passijlora or 
Passion Flower. Of thrifty climbing habit 
and with distinctly marked and highly 
colored foliage, the plant is in every respect 
a fit companion for the well known and 
much prized Cissus discolor. Like the Cissus, 
it is a warm, green-house and drawing-room 
plant; and trained on a wire or wooden 
trellis, or along tin: rafters of a hot-Uouse, it 
is highly ornamental. The annexed engrav¬ 
ing represents a specimen with foliage about 
one-third the natural size. At different 
stages of growth the leaves assumed various 
colors. When the plant is young the upper 
portion of the leaf is broadly striped with 
white, which gradually Changes to rose, then 
red, while the under portion is of a violet 
purple color. As the leaves grow older they 
change again to a greenish white color. It 
was first sent out to the trade by Mr. Vkh- 
sciiaffkj.t of Belgium. w. c. n. 
Rochester, N. V., 1H70. 
Thu foregoing is furnished us by Mr. W. 
C. Bakuy, (son of P. Bakuy of the Mount 
Hope Nurseries,) a young gentleman of ex¬ 
cellent taste and ability. The drawing is 
by Geckok FitAURNHEnGEU—also of Roch¬ 
ester— who lias sketched and engraved for 
the Rural ever since its commencement. 
AUTUMN BULBS. 
FLORAL 
A Yvonne me n in lor tlie 
$ e l j gPjgf y • Tiiesk dull October 
y , days,'with cold, drip* 
P Pr ping rains and falling 
leaves, forewarn us of 
coming desolations; 
of “ meadows brown 
^ and sere,” and of snow 
j wreaths, too. We 
need to brighten our 
homes with a little of 
summer’s beauty, that 
the gracious season 
’A.SCiwi\A.. way he kept in mind 
till she comes again in 
her wonderful robes. Nothing gives me 
more pleasure the whole year through than 
My Wardian Case, 
for it holds the heart of the wild wood for 
my especial enjoyment. Geraniums sicken, 
roses die; oleanders gather dusL; tuberosee 
fail to bloom ; but my case never fails, and 
is constantly giving me little surprises in the 
way of peculiar forms of plant life. For the 
benefit of those who may wish to set lip a 
Wardian, I will state that mine is of black 
walnut, ID by 111 inches, and fourteen inches 
high; the base boards are three inches wide, ^ 
and the corner posts an inch square. The \ 
inside is fitted with a shallow zinc pan, to 
contain the earth, and the ease itself is 
washed inside with, a solution of shellac. J 
The soil Is composed of equal parts of leaf |l 
mold, sand, ami charcoal. 
For stocking a case, 1 think nothing equals || 
our native plants; for leafage, we want 
ferns, and my favorite arrangement is to 
plant a root of “Maiden hair ”—Adiantum 
pedaturn— in the center; next to this, some 
medium-sized specimens of the Shield-tern 
Aspidium aorostichoidcs —and Aspidium spi- 
nubmrn. Both of these may be readily 
identified by any person; the former has 
thick glossy tufts of dark green leaves that 
endure through the winter ; the latter has a 
finely-cut leaf, and is one of our prettiest 
and most common ferns, or brakes. 
About these 1 group the delicate Bladder- 
ferns, (Cystopleris fragilis anil bulbifera) a 
few polypods, (Polypodium mlgare,) a rat- 
Tiiobe who would have a handsome gar¬ 
den in spring must prepare for it in au¬ 
tumn. It takes time for plants to grow, 
and whether it he more or less, all that is re¬ 
quired must be given to produce satisfactory 
results. There are a large class of bulbs 
that bloom early in spring and ripen during 
summer, becoming perfectly dormant in the 
hottest weather, when other species of plants 
are making their most vigorous growth. In 
common parlance they are called “ Dutch 
Bulbs,” simply because the great source of 
supply is Holland. They are usually im¬ 
ported as soon as mature, in summer or 
early autumn, and many persons purchase 
new bulbs annually instead of trying to 
propagate from the previous season’s supply. 
will receive plenty of light. Although glass 
culture of hyacinths is fashionable, we think 
it is so unnatural, both in appearance and 
fact, that it should be abandoned for the 
more sensible and beautiful system of plant¬ 
ing in baskets or boxes. (See illustration on 
page 287) A tall hyacinth glass, with a few 
green leaves and a spike of flowers on top, is 
a quaint ornament at most; hut a group of 
plants, set in a neat shallow box, pan or 
basket, with their roots nicely covered, is a 
cheerful, and delightful object. For a suc¬ 
cession of blooms during winter, it is neces¬ 
sary to start the bulbs at different periods in 
autumn. 
'FuIitiM. 
It would be difficult to tell which rank 
first in public estimation, tulips or hyacinths, 
as both are indispensable to a good garden. 
The same kind of soil may be used for both, 
and in fact, we never make any special 
preparation for the different kinds of bulbs 
planted in autumn. Make the soil deep, 
light and rich with the materials already 
named, and there will be but little danger of 
failure. In planting tulips the tall-growing 
sorts should be placed in the center of tlie 
group or bed, and the low-growing kinds 
around the outside. A very handsome 
group may he made by planting tall-grow¬ 
ing tulips in the center. The dwarf Due 
Van Tliol sorts next, then hyacinths, fol¬ 
lowed by Scillas, Snowdrops and Crocus. 
All the kinds will not bloom at the same 
time, but these will he an attraction to that 
group for many weeks during spring and 
SINGLE HYACINTH. 
box should be painted green, or the zinc 
may form the lining to a wooden box with 
DOUBLE HYACINTH. 
Most kinds of these Dutch bulbs degenerate 
in our climate, although it is questionable if 
