190 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 12. 
ho had determined twenty-eight distinct species, seven¬ 
teen only being contained in Mr. Stephen’s “ Systematic 
Catalogue of British Insects.” Of these twenty-eight 
species, eight belonged to the genus Formica ; two to 
the new genus Tapenoma, of Forster; one to Poner a; 
fourteen to Myrmica; one to Myrmecina, of Curtis; 
and two to Stenamma. Mr. Smith also gave some 
accounts of the habits of the different species. 
BULB-FORCING. 
The production of first-rate Hyacinths, Narcissi, 
Tulips, Crocuses, &c., in the end of December, and 
through the month of January, is one of the little 
niceties which pertain to the art of gardening; and 
certainly, amongst all the flowers which are available for 
enlivening the dreary winter months, we have no one 
group, or family, which possesses greater popularity in 
their combination of colour, scent, and other adapt¬ 
abilities. The production of fine blossoms in March 
and April is a very easy affair, as we all know that in 
our borders they spring naturally at that period. 
Itliaslong since been observed, in these pages, that to 
begin at the beginning, we should procure bulbs as early 
as possible, and a great fact it is, as connected with their 
early forcing. Our readers, in the main, of course know 
that many of these things are imported from Holland 
annually, and, doubtless, some have been astonished at 
the fact, especially those who fancy that British 
gardeners can accomplish anything possible in their 
art; and, indeed, with the requisite appliances, doubt¬ 
less, they can. We all know that the Dutch climate is 
somewhat peculiar, and the same, in degree, may he 
said of the soil in which the bulbs are cultivated. Not¬ 
withstanding all this, however, it does seem strange, 
seeing the difficulties which have been overcome in the 
culture of such things as Orchids,—the formal culture of 
which was, at one time, deemed almost impossible,—that 
much bolder attempts have not been made to rival the 
Dutch in this their favourite hobby. We have been 
given to understand, that the soil in which they grow 
about Haarlem, or other places, noted for their suc¬ 
cessful culture, is a dark, loose, and sandy earth, and 
that it is no uncommon thing to meet with much 
extra moisture, of a tolerably permanent character, 
at not very many inches below the surface. And, 
in addition, that some of these soils are so loose, as 
to require a coating of cow or other manure, on the 
surface, to prevent them from blowing away by the 
winds, when they are in a dry, and, of course, loose 
condition. Now, it is certain that we have very similar 
conditions of soil, in both England, Scotland, and 
Ireland, hut we have a more difficult case, by far, to 
grapple with, when we come to the question of atmos¬ 
phere. We can much easier make special conditions of 
soil, than control, or, shall we say create, an atmosphere 
of so special a character. Here, then, the chief point 
of the question would seem to rest; hut, after all, those 
who are to “ push us off our stools,” need not be sur¬ 
prised if they should fairly overcome these difficulties, 
long before the present century has passed. It has 
always occurred to me, when in a speculative mood, 
that the experiment would have the best chance in 
Ireland; but about this I will say no more, merely 
throwing out the hint. 
I would here, however, suggest to the readers of The 
Cottage Gardener, that it will not he prudent for the 
British bulb-importers to run too keen a race as to 
hurrying the importations; such may possibly end in so 
far hurrying the Dutch growers, as to induce them to 
take up bulbs before they are ripe ; and this would end 
in imperfect developments and poverty of display. 
It may be taken for granted, as the first step in bulb- 
forcing, that he who has the finest potful of roots before 
the bulb begins to shoot upwards, other things being 
equal, has laid the best foundation for a good bloom. I 
speak, now, chiefly with regard to Hyacinths ; but the 
principle will doubtless apply, with greater or less force, 
to most of our bulbs. They will not only bear, but 
enjoy, a bottom-warmth, if judiciously applied; and the 
period at which to subject them to it, in my opinion, is 
when the pot or glass is at least half-filled with roots, 
and the bud has sprouted an inch or more. They 
will enjoy a bottom-warmth, at that period, of 60° to 70°, 
not more. My practice has been to select the front of a 
brick pit, which has been recently furnished with ferment¬ 
ing materials; two parts tree-leaves, with one part dung, 
duly prepared before being put in the pit; such, about 
four feet in depth, produces a permanent bottom-warmth 
of about 70°. At the front, or south margin of this pit, a 
board is first placed as a flat shelf, resting on the 
fermenting materials, and the bulbs are set on this 
board, to prevent their roots getting into the fermenting 
material; the pots are then covered three inches with 
very fine, old tan; thus, the crowns are three inches 
beiow the surface. As soon as planted, a strip of mat¬ 
ting is tacked over them, to insure a comparative dark¬ 
ness. Being in the condition I before adverted to, viz., a 
pot nearly full of roots, and the buds already advanced 
about two inches, they come forward with singular 
rapidity, whether Hyacinths, the Narcissi, Tulips, Cro¬ 
cuses, &o., and the success is so complete, that nothing 
more appears desirable. 
In about a fortnight, or a little more, many will be 
thrusting their heads through the soil, and as soon as this 
is the case, the old tan is instantly drawn away from 
their stems; this is important, for if left thus many 
days, they become drawn and weakened. Means, too, 
must be taken to inure them gradually to the light, as 
also to gradually cool down the roots ; for they will have 
to leave the pit, and submit to a lower degree of warmth 
at the root. 
Here it may be observed, concerning the Hyacinth, 
that different kinds evince different habits, from the 
moment they emerge from the tan covering; some will 
possess a central blossom-spike so thoroughly enveloped 
in a sheath of foliage as to prevent the truss from being 
seen until the stem is nearly four inches high ; others | 
will develop the point of the truss almost before a leaf 
appears. Now, this is not alone on account of kind,— 
the previous condition of the bulb in its own country 
has something to do in the affair: the latter, however, 
we can little influence. It must be remembered, in all 
these cases, by the beginner in bulb-forcing, that the 
influence of light incites to speedy development; of 
darkness, to elongation, and, of course, protracted de¬ 
velopment. The bulb-forcer, therefore, must look well 
to the character of his roots when in the act of develop¬ 
ment ; and he will find it requisite to jdace them in two 
sections distinguished by their degrees of light. 
I may here remark on moisture as it concerns 
these bulbs; and may point to air-moisture and root- 
moisture. It will be found, I believe, that the more 
humid the atmosphere in which the development of the 
truss and foliage takes place, the more the plant will 
enlarge in foliage; and vice versa. So, that since, as 
our florists tell us, much of the beauty of a Hyacinth 
depends on the strength and proportion of the truss, 
and the distance which the bells, or pips, are from each 
other, the beginner may learn from hence that it is in 
his power so to modify heat, moisture, and light, as to 
make the rising truss and foliage bend, in a high degree, < 
to his will. 
But what of root-moisture? If Hyacinths are potted j 
