1913. 
1133 
BULB CULTURE. 
Tulips. —The first and most important 
requisite in the successful growing of 
tulips is a light and fertile soil. True, 
these bulbs can be grown in a way in 
moderately rich soil, but it is certain 
that they cannot be had in anything like 
their proper perfection when cultivated 
in this manner. A common practice is to 
follow the bedding plants with the bulbs, 
and this is a very good plan. If the beds 
are well manured in the Spring when 
planted it is scarcely necessary to fertilize 
again for tulips, as by this time the ma¬ 
nure applied in the Spring is decom¬ 
posed and in excellent condition to be 
taken up readily by plant life. If not, 
the soil that the bulbs are to go in, 
should receive a heavy coat of well-rot¬ 
ted manure and be dug thoroughly and 
deeply. In this operation, care should be 
taken that the earth be well broken up 
and all stones removed. The ideal time 
for planting is about the middle of Octo¬ 
ber. Beds of tulips that are planted uni¬ 
formly and with respect to color and 
shading, always make a better appear¬ 
ance than one put in without proper re¬ 
gard for these details. Seven or eight 
inches is about right for distance apart 
while the bulbs should be put from three 
to five inches in depth. A good way to 
plant.a circular bed is to use a short line 
with stakes at both ends. Find the cen¬ 
ter placing one of the stakes with line at¬ 
tached there; then shorten line to eight 
inches and holding stakes tightly, de¬ 
scribe a circle. This operation can be 
continued by letting out line until the 
bed is completed. In covering the soil 
should be settled firmly and a rake run 
over the surface making it smooth. After 
the ground freezes for the Winter, a thin 
cover of straw or coarse manure can be 
placed over the beds for protection. This 
litter should not be removed in the 
Spring until the frosts are past, as the 
tender shoots of the tulips are apt to be 
injured by them. After the hlooms are 
spent, the bulbs can be taken up and 
after being dried thoroughly, should be 
stored in a cool place for planting the 
following Fall. Some especially good va¬ 
rieties for bedding are as follows: La 
Reine, white; Belle Alliance, scarlet; 
Keizerkroon, scarlet with yellow edge; 
Yellow Prince and Proserpine, deep pink, 
of the early singlo sorts; Due van Thol, 
red and yellow ; La Candour, white; Mu¬ 
rillo, light rose; Scarlet King and Tour- 
nesol,' yellow, of the early doubles; Bou¬ 
ton d’Or, yellow; La Merveille, salmon, 
York and Lancaster, variegated, and 
Beauty of America, of the late single 
varieties. The parrot tulips are beauti¬ 
ful in coloring and shape, and the Dar¬ 
wins are very popular and satisfactory. 
Mixtures of the doubles and singles of the 
late and early sorts can be procured a 
little cheaper than the named varieties, 
but the latter are by far the most inter¬ 
esting. 
For forcing indoors, the bulbs should 
be potted into shallow pans soon after 
being purchased and buried in light soil 
or ashes outside to let the roots form. 
When the pots are well filled with roots, 
they can be moved into the heat of the 
living room where they should be kept 
from the direct light for a few days and 
watered regularly. They enjoy a tem¬ 
perature of from 65 to 70 degrees. 
Hyacinths. —The cultural directions 
given above for tulips are well suited to 
the needs of the hyacinth; so under this 
heading, the attention will be confined to 
their indoor culture, and the suggesting 
of some justly famous sorts for trial. At 
one time it was much in vogue to grow 
hyacinths in small glass receptacles made 
especially for the purpose. Water was 
used instead of soil and the only require¬ 
ment was the changing of the water 
about three times a week. A pan of 
nicely-grown hyacinths at Christmas or 
at any time from then till Spring, is a 
very showy thing indeed, and so simple 
is the operation of forcing, that it is a 
wonder that more of this truly.interest- 
ing work is not done at home. As soon 
as the bulbs are obtained, prepare some 
rich soil and pot them into shallow pans 
"!* P°f s * according to the individual taste, 
they can be placed quite close together 
hi this operation, leaving just the tips of 
'lie bulbs above the surface of the soil. 
1 he pans or pots can now be placed upon 
'lie cellar floor, and. after watering thor¬ 
oughly, covered with burlap or paper. 
No "lore water is needed unless signs of 
THE) RURAL, 
dryness appear, in which case apply more 
water. When the roots are well formed, 
a few pots at a time can be taken into 
the. living room and placed in the win¬ 
dow—at the greatest distance from the 
radiator or stove. Apply water as need 
ed and place a sheet of paper over the 
bulbs to assist in drawing up the stems. 
When the full height is attained, place a 
stake to each stem and tie it firmly. This 
prevents the flower from being borne 
down by its weight and preserves the 
shapely appearance of the whole. By 
handling a few pots at a time in this 
manner, it is possible to have choice 
hyacinths the Winter through. A liberal 
amount of water must be given after the 
plants are put into the warm room, but 
previous to that time it should be applied 
sparingly. When the flowers are fully 
developed, moving them into a cooler 
room will greatly assist in their preser¬ 
vation. Some meritorious sorts are as 
follows: Gertrude, rose; L’Innocence, 
white; Charles Dickens, blue; and King 
of the Yellows, in the singles; Lord Wel¬ 
lington, pink; Non Plus Ultra, white; 
Prince of Orange, red; Blocksburg, blue 
and Goethe, yellow, of the doubles. 
Mixed sorts can be had in bulk and are 
at times very satisfactory. 
Daffodils. —The daffodil is grown 
very successfully in dishes of sand and 
water in the windows of the living room. 
The bulbs are set close together in this 
method, being partially embedded in the 
sand, with which the shallow dish is 
nearly filled. It is only necessary to 
keep the sand moist at all times, keeping 
the receptacles in the windows, the great¬ 
est distance from the heat. The cooler 
the flowers are developed, the better they 
will be in substance and in keeping quali¬ 
ties. Daffodils can be placed in pans and 
handled like hyacinths with success. For 
cultivation outside, the directions for 
tulips will serve the purpose. 
General Remarks. —Every Fall, a 
cheap, low grade of bulbs find their way 
into the country, which are ordinarily 
sold to venders and peddlers. This stock 
represents what is left after the* better 
grades have been removed. Hence it fol¬ 
lows that from this class of goods one 
could not reasonably expect to grow good 
flowers, and that it is the safest plan to 
buy the higher-priced bulbs is obvious. 
In cutting the flowers of the tulips, often 
in our desire to get ones with extra long 
stems, we cut way down into the bulb, 
pulling the center out with the stem. 
This is very good where the bulbs are 
not wanted for another season; but if 
mutilated in this manner they are worth¬ 
less for planting over. The keeping qual¬ 
ities of the daffodil as a cut flower are 
remarkable. When placed in water in a 
rather cool place they will stay fresh for 
days, and if the water is changed once 
every 24 hours, and the stems shortened 
slightly each time, they will last as long 
as a Chrysanthemum. When forcing bulb¬ 
ous stock indoors, it often occurs that 
some of the pots will not thrive as they 
should. This is a sign of lack of nour¬ 
ishment and can be remedied by apply¬ 
ing a^few doses of liquid manure, given 
four or five days apart. However, the 
aphis, or green fly, attack it causing simi¬ 
lar results; in this case apply a solution 
of nicotine—a teaspoonful to the gallon 
of water and it will remove them. If 
one should wish to have the blooming 
bulbs hold out a while longer than usual 
it is a good plan to set the pots in a cool 
place and cover them with paper. This 
treatment, if adopted in time, will 
lengthen the life of the flowers many 
days. _ j. m’l. 
Destroying Ferns and Brake*. 
Will you tell us how to get rid of ferns 
and brakes in our old pasture? s. B. L. 
Pennsylvania. 
The common fern or brake thrives best 
in thickets, hillsides and moist places, 
but is occasionally found growing abun¬ 
dantly in abandoned fields and old pas¬ 
tures. It cannot endure cultivation and 
will soon disappear when land is plowed 
and planted to cultivated crops. If the 
ferns are growing in patches it may save 
time and labor to grub these out and al¬ 
low to dry. The dead plants should af¬ 
terwards be removed from the pasture so 
that grass may more easily spread over 
the barren spot. Provided the ferns are 
too thick and numerous to be grubbed out 
the field should be plowed during a dry 
period in the Summer or Fall and plant¬ 
ed to some cultivated crop such as corn 
or potatoes the following Spring. One 
year of thorough cultivation should be 
sufficient to effect a complete eradication 
of this weed. j. b. demabee. 
Penn. State College. 
N EW-YORKEK 
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COMPANY 
Founded IS46. Oldest Makers 
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635 St. Clair Avenue, N. W. 
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