266 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 28, 1889. 
blooms are small, white, in close head-like clusters, and 
produced in succession. The leaves are linear, and 
rolled back at the margins. It is a native of Spain and 
Portugal, but only moderately hardy. 
C. monspeliensis. —Originally introduced from the 
south of France in 1656, this might be described as an 
old inhabitant of British gardens, but has doubtless 
been many times lost to cultivation owing to its not 
being sufficiently hardy to withstand the severity of 
our winter unprotected. The leaves are linear-lanceo¬ 
late, loosely hairy on both surfaces, and the white 
flowers are moderate in size. 
C. florentinus. —This forms a dwarf spreading 
bush, well adapted for rockeries, and is sometimes 
classed as a variety of the last-named, although con¬ 
sidered a hybrid between C. monspeliensis and C. salvi- 
folius. The narrowly-lanceolate leaves are wrinkled, 
and the large showy flowers are white, passing into 
yellow at the base of the petals. Though not so hardy 
as could be desired, it is well worthy of cultivation, 
keeping a reserve stock in a frame. 
-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
-—- 
Christmas Boses. 
Cool conservatories and greenhouses could be made 
quite gay even in winter by the use of Christmas Boses 
(Helleborus niger) with a little forethought. The 
thick and fleshy slow-growing roots are impatient of 
disturbance, and suffer much by the act of lifting and 
potting the plants. This injury can be avoided by 
growing the plants in pots or tubs all the year round. 
All that is then necessary is to take them iudoors 
when they commence to show bloom, and they will 
continue flowering for many weeks together. Some 
varieties are earlier than others—such, for instance, as 
the tall-leaved and large-flowering one, known as 
H. niger altifolius, also as H. n. maximus. The 
narrow-leaved one (H. n. angustifolius) has smaller 
flowers, but comes into bloom very early, and in 
average seasons will flower in the open air long before 
Christmas. When brought indoors, the blooms are of 
a much purer white than when exposed to the in¬ 
fluences of the weather, and have this further advantage, 
that they can be seen and admired in all their beauty, 
whatever the aspect out of doors. 
Preparing Places for Wall Climbers. 
When flowering or other climbers are planted against 
the walls of buildings or similar situations, the ground 
seldom, if ever, gets that preparation which it ought to 
have. It frequently happens also that a walk or pave¬ 
ment comes close up to the wall, leaving nothing in 
the shape of a border which can be cultivated and 
manured if need be for the benefit of the plants. It is 
not sufficient, however, merely to make an opening for 
the insertion of the roots ; a space at least of 1 yard in 
diameter should be trenched to the depth of 2 ft. 
Should the soil be wholly bad, then it must be taken 
out to the depth mentioned, and replaced with better 
material. Generally, however, a small quantity of fresh 
soil, together with some farmyard manure, will render 
the soil sufficiently fertile for most of the hardy 
climbers now in cultivation. When the preliminary 
preparation has been completed, take out a hole 
sufficiently wide to admit of the roots being spread out 
flat. Cover them with fine soil, and then fill up, and 
tread the whole firmly if it is necessary to construct a 
walk or lay pavement over the place. 
Boot-pruning Fruit Trees. 
The question as to when root-pruning is necessary may 
be determined by the amount of growth the trees make 
during summer. If they produce a large quantity of 
shoots that must necessarily be cut away at the winter 
pruning, then it is evident that the roots are rambling 
too extensively, and must be reduced, in order that 
less wood may be produced, and that the trees may 
be brought into a more fruitful condition. The facts 
are that the roots are in excess of the head of the tree, 
and will continue to make a large amount of useless 
wood unless they are correspondingly reduced. If the 
trees are small, a good plan is to lift them, and re-plant 
after removing any strong roots that may dip down 
perpendicularly, and shortening long straggling ones. 
A trench may be taken out round larger trees about 
3 ft. from the base of the stem, and all the long 
straggling roots that go beyond this cut off with a 
sharp knife. Yery strong roots may have to be cut 
through with a saw, afterwards dressing the wound 
with a sharp knife. For large, old standard trees the 
trench may be taken out at 4 ft. from the bole of the 
tree. It may be advisable to go only half round the 
tree this winter, doing the other half next year; 
because in the interval fresh fibrous roots will be 
formed. 
The Onion Beds. 
To grow Onions well, something more is necessary 
than merely digging over the ground and sowing the 
seeds. The best plan is to begin in autumn by 
trenching or double digging the ground, leaving it 
rough on the surface so that it may be well pulverised 
by the winter frosts. If the operation has been 
deferred till now, commence it at once, digging in a 
rich coating of good, fat, farmyard manure. Then give 
a good dressing of soot, which will not only enrich 
the ground, but will help to destroy the chrysalides 
of the Onion grub and other insects. A good method 
of enriching the ground is to top-dress with well-rotted 
vegetable refuse, removed from the garden during 
summer ; and also with the ashes obtained by the 
burning of prunings of shrubs and fruit trees. Before 
sowing, the surface may be lightly forked over, trod 
firm, then raked and the lines drawn out for the seed. 
"With other good cultural treatment during summer 
large crops of Onions may be obtained by amateurs, as 
well as by professionals. 
--*i>$<-=- 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF 
HYACINTHS AND TULIPS. 
"With all lovers of flowers, the Hyacinth and Tulip 
must take a prominent place. As they have so 
many advantages over nearly all other spring subjects, 
they will at once commend themselves to the general 
favour. Let us take the Hyacinths first, because 
they are indispensable for decorative purposes. They 
may be grown with more or less success by the most 
inexperienced amateur, or by anyone—from him who 
grows them in a cottage window to a thoroughly prac¬ 
tical gardener, with his thousands of bulbs ; but I 
shall, in the course of this paper, endeavour to show 
how both the Hyacinth and Tulip may be grown with 
satisfactory success. 
Anyone possessed of a greenhouse—for “he who 
loves a garden loves a greenhouse too ”—however small, 
will find a place for a few Hyacinths, as they are as 
well adapted for growing in pots in early spring as in 
the open beds or borders later in the season. They 
may also be grown in glasses and window boxes. 
According to quantities available, they may be had in 
flower for a period of at least five months of the year, 
because by obtaining a few bulbs of the pure white, 
sweet-scented, little Boman Hyacinth, and potting 
early in September, flowers may easily be had for 
Christmas. These will be followed by the Italian 
Hyacinth, which throws an abundance of bloom, and, 
in their turn, by the larger-flowered varieties—the 
Dutch bulbs—which, by introducing a few at intervals, 
according to demand, maintain a supply of bloom into 
May. All the beds and borders are thus made gay, fur¬ 
nishing the dullest season of the year with one of the 
most beautiful flowers that can be grown. 
They are perfectly hardy when planted in beds or 
borders, the climatic influences most injurious to them 
being strong winds and heavy rains. Another point of 
value is that Hyacinths command well nigh every 
shade of colour, from deep dark crimson through red 
and pink, and from almost black through blue and 
mauve to pure white, besides several shades of yellow 
more or less intense. 
For general cultivation it is advisable to procure 
fresh supplies annually. Good bulbs may be bought 
at a very reasonable rate, the chief point being to 
obtain those of fair dimensions, quite firm, and heavy 
according to their several sizes. It does not necessarily 
follow that the largest bulb will throw the biggest 
spike of bloom, but the firmest and heaviest bulb will 
produce a close compact spike, as well as of good size. 
Dutch bulbs, to form a succession of bloom from 
February onwards, should be potted from the end of 
September, and at intervals through October, but not 
later, as by that time they commence to grow, and, of 
course, require support. For general use pots of 5 ins. 
in diameter are large enough. 
The compost should be rich, free and porous, con¬ 
sisting of a third part fibrous loam, one-third thoroughly 
decomposed cow-manure, and a little leaf-soil, with a 
liberal addition of sand to keep the whole open. It 
should be sufficiently moist as not to require water till 
the roots have taken full possession of the soil. The 
pots should be perfectly clean, and have sufficient 
crocks and potsherds placed in'the bottom to ensure 
good drainage. In potting, place some of the rougher 
compost over the drainage, after which sufficient soil 
may be put in to allow the top of the bulb to be under 
the rim of the pots. Place a little silver-sand on which 
to rest the bulbs, and to prevent the lodgment of water 
about them. After carefully placing the bulbs in the 
centre of the pot, fill up the latter, firmly pressing the 
soil to the bulb, not the bulb to the soil, which should 
be so finished as to allow the crown of the bulb to be 
j ust visible above the surface. Carefully label and place 
in a cold frame on a good bottom of coal ashes, quite 
close together, and cover to a depth of 4 ins. to 6 ins. 
with coco-nut fibre refuse, spent tan, or fine clean coal 
ashes. This will encourage roots to start freelv. a 3 
unless they fill the pot with roots, it is useless to 
expect perfect blooms. 
They should be allowed to stay in this position until 
growth commences, and the flower-spike shows about 
2 ins. long. They must then be removed to a cool 
house or frame kept carefully shaded, gradually inuring 
the tender blanched growths to the light until they are 
green, when if required for immediate service may be 
introduced into gentle heat, which should be gradually 
increased. As the growth advances the flower-spike 
must be supported by a neat stake, very loosely tied, 
and the plant placed in as much light as possible to 
insure sturdy growth and to develop the colour of the 
flowers. They should never be allowed to want water, 
yet care must be taken to keep them from getting too wet. 
Hyacinths may be very successfully grown in glasses 
especially manufactured for them in various ornamental 
patterns and colours, to hold one or three bulbs, which 
should at all times be kept so full of water (preferably 
rain-water) that the base of the bulb barely rests on 
the surface of the same, which should be kept sweet by 
placing one or two pieces of charcoal in the glasses. 
The latter when filled, and the bulbs carefully 
placed in them, may be put away in some cool, dark 
place until the roots are well down to the bottom of 
the glasses. They may then be gradually brought to 
the light. As they advance in growth they may be 
supported by a wire, so fixed on the glass as to be 
firm. The glasses should never be placed near a fire, 
but at all times kept as cool as possible. Another 
essential point is to occasionally sponge the foliage to 
keep it free from dust, &e. Single-flowered Hyacinths 
always prove more satisfactory than double for such 
work. 
Outdoor Culture. 
Beds or borders for Hyacinths or Tulips should be 
thoroughly well drained, and consist of a compost of 
good loam, thoroughly decomposed manure, leaf-soil, 
a liberal addition of road sand sweepings, potting 
bench refuse, or anything to make it perfectly friable 
and porous. The bulbs should be planted in October 
to a depth of about 4 ins. If planted in designs, 
sufficient bulbs should be used to give good effect; but 
about 6 ins. to 9 ins. asunder is a fair distance. The 
beds should be kept clean, the surface finely broken 
through the winter, never allowed to become dry in 
spring, and, in fact, one or two good soakings of 
liquid manure help them considerably. As growth 
advances, the blooms must be carefully supported by a 
neat stake, to prevent them being blown about by 
strong winds and dashed by heavy rains. As the 
flower fades, it is a good plan to cut them away, as 
they rob the bulb of nourishment required for the 
next season. "When the foliage dies away, the bulbs 
should be lifted and stored away in a cool dry place. 
Hyacinths for Exhibition Purposes. 
Bulbs of the very first quality only should be employed, 
potting them early to give them a good start and get 
their pots well filled with roots. They should be grown 
very sturdy, never excited, and treated all through 
with the greatest care. Place them singly in pots 
6 ins. or 7 ins. in diameter, using a compost of three- 
parts fibry loam, two of thoroughly-rotted cow-manure, 
and one of silver-sand, thoroughly incorporated. 
Not many Hyacinths are propagated in this country, 
though it is a large industry in Holland, from whence 
it is computed that £50,000 worth are imported into 
this country annually. 
The following are a few of the best for general use 
Single whites : Alba Superbissima, La Grandesse Mout 
Blanc, Mdme. Yan der Hoop, and Grand Yedette. 
Single red : Gertrude, Macaulay, Queen of Hyacinths, 
Norma, Yictoria Alexandrina, and Charles Dickens. 
Single blue: Blondin, Czar Peter, Gladstone, Baron 
Yan Thol, King of the Blues, and Argus. Double 
white: Florence Nightingale, Grand Yainqueur, La 
Tour d’Auvergne, and Prince of Waterloo. Double 
red : Peabody, Milton, Frederick the Great, Bouquet 
Boyal, and Susannah Maria. Double blue: Charles 
