AUGUST. 
167 
that, generally speaking, the first comers have the best choice ;* but for decorat¬ 
ing villa gardens, windows, &c., they are not generally obtained till late in the 
year, and often not till they begin to grow in the shop windows. Experienced 
growers well know that in this case the bulbs are injured, although they may 
produce their blooms properly, because the rudiments of these are already formed 
in the bulbs; but then it is much better to have them in the ground before this 
takes place. 
In the purchase of bulbs it is advisable to have an eye to the purpose to 
which they are to be put. For instance : if intended for decorating the borders 
of a villa garden, it is scarcely worth while to choose the choicer kinds of 
Hyacinths and Tulips ; for of the former there are plenty, usually catalogued 
as border Hyacinths, priced at about 4s. per dozen, smaller generally than others, 
but equally good and oftentimes producing as good spikes of bloom as the high- 
priced ones. The same may be said of Tulips. There are sorts equally showy 
with the best—as the Van Thol, Double Tournesol, and Rex Rubrorum, which 
are sold at 6s. and 7s. per hundred in ordinary seasons. These answer ad¬ 
mirably for planting in borders, and will be found less expensive than better 
kinds, for it must be observed that a dozen or two of Tulips or Hyacinths may 
seem enough to enliven a border; but experience will show that their appear¬ 
ance, when planted and in dower, will be very insignificant, and nothing to the 
fine massive effect produced by a quantity of less expensive but equally showy 
sorts ; and even where they are not massed, but only placed about the borders 
in small patches, it takes a great number to make any effective display. Some¬ 
thing may also be said with regard to colour and prolonging the season of 
blooming. In the former case some would object to the glare of scarlet and 
yellow presented by the Van Thol and Tournesol Tulips, as wearying to the eye, 
and certainly it is not advisable to confine oneself to them. But they may be 
varied by Crocuses of different colours, Snowdrops, and early Narcissus, and 
also by means of Hyacinths, which vary considerably. As regards the season 
of flowering, this may be prolonged by using such bulbs as flower successively, 
beginning with Winter Aconites, followed by Snowdrops, early Tulips, Crocuses, 
Hyacinths, early Narcissus, medium Tulips, late Narcissus, and late Tulips. 
These flower during the months of March, April, and May, and by a suitable 
arrangement they may be placed so that they may all be seen to advantage at 
their several times of flowering. 
I once planted a bed entirely of different kinds of spring-flowering bulbs, 
both with the object of keeping up the display as long as possible, and of vary¬ 
ing the colours, so that the bed while any of the bulbs were in flower presented 
a massive display of colour. The bulbs were all newly imported, and were 
planted so that they might grow and increase, which they could not do with¬ 
out having the proper time to form and ripen the bulbs, and as I did not in¬ 
tend to take them up every season the ground was trenched and manured before 
planting. The bed was 7 feet wide, and about four times that length. The 
arrangement of the bulbs was as follows :—They were placed in rows 10 inches 
apart across the bed ; the depth of planting varying according to the size of the 
bulbs—that is, about 4 inches deep for Snowdrops, a little deeper for Crocuses, 
about 6 inches for Hyacinths, and the others in proportion. The first row con¬ 
sisted of early Tulips intermixed with Snowdrops ; the second, of Hyacinths ; 
the third row, of late Tulips and Crocuses; the fourth, of Winter Aconites and 
early Narcissus ; the fifth row, of early Tulips and late Narcissus ; sixth row 
of Hyacinths and Winter Aconites ; seventh row, of Snowdrops, Scillas, and 
late Tulips; and so on throughout,varying and mixing the colours and sorts as 
far as was convenient—not the most scientific arrangement perhaps, but when 
in bloom the bed had a most pleasing effect. 
